The BCCI has announced India's squads for the ODI and Test series against New Zealand. Mohammed Shami has been overlooked once more despite consistent domestic performances, while Akash Deep returns after a lengthy injury layoff and Anshul Kamboj earns a recall. The five-match ODI series runs from November 4 to 15, with the two-match Test series beginning November 19.
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Mohammed Shami has been left out of both the ODI and Test squads named by the Board of Control for Cricket in India for the forthcoming series against New Zealand, meaning the 36-year-old pace bowler holds no place in the current national setup.
His most recent appearance for the national side came during the ICC Champions Trophy final against New Zealand — a match India won — held in March of the previous year. Shami claimed nine wickets across five innings at an average of 25.88 during India's run to the tournament title.
In the Duleep Trophy 2026, he took seven wickets across three outings at a bowling average of 26.57, contributing to East Zone's title victory as part of their campaign throughout. Across seven matches for Bengal in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy, his haul reached 37 wickets at an average of 16.72 runs per dismissal.
In his lone Ranji Trophy appearance of the 2026-27 edition, Shami recorded four wickets for 30 runs in the first innings and one wicket for 29 in the second. Across two IPL campaigns, he claimed a combined 18 dismissals from 22 appearances — six of those coming across nine outings for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2025, with a further 12 claimed across 13 assignments after moving to Lucknow Super Giants the following year.
That run of consistent domestic performances had positioned the fast bowler as a candidate for recall across both the ODI and Test formats. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, also 36, received a place in India's T20I squad for the series against New Zealand — a tournament scheduled ahead of the ODI and Test fixtures — lending further context to the prospect of an older player's return to the national side.
Selection for the playing eleven would mark Bhuvneshwar's return to international cricket, with his last appearance having come in the T20 World Cup semi-final against England at Adelaide in 2022. Across 31 appearances for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL, he claimed 45 wickets at a bowling average of 22.55, conceding runs at a rate of 8.52 per over. RCB won consecutive IPL championships in 2025 and 2026, with Bhuvneshwar part of the side across both campaigns.
Akash Deep, who represents Bengal alongside Shami, has been named in India's Test squad for the New Zealand series after an extended absence from the national setup. His most recent Test appearance came at The Oval against England in August of the previous year, after which a lower-back problem sidelined him from competitive cricket for eight months.
Anshul Kamboj, whose sole Test appearance came during India's 2025 tour of England before he was omitted from subsequent selections, has been recalled to the Indian squads. The BCCI released the ODI and Test squads for the New Zealand tour on Friday.
The five-match ODI leg runs from 4 to 15 November, with a two-Test series following from 19 November. Shubman Gill has been named to captain a 16-man India ODI squad for the opening three matches, with Shreyas Iyer as his deputy. The group includes Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, and Axar Patel among the batting and all-round options, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan sharing wicketkeeping duties, and a pace attack drawn from Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, and Prasidh Krishna, alongside spin from Kuldeep Yadav.
A separate 16-player squad has been named for the fourth and fifth ODIs, with Shreyas Iyer taking the captaincy and Ishan Kishan serving as vice-captain and wicketkeeper. That group also includes Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra as the second wicketkeeper, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, and Kuldeep Yadav.
Sixteen players have been named to the Test squad, with Shubman Gill as captain and KL Rahul as vice-captain. Rishabh Pant is listed as wicketkeeper subject to a fitness clearance. The remaining members of the squad are Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel as the second wicketkeeper, Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj.
India's selectors have named squads for both the ODI and Test series against New Zealand. The omission of Yashasvi Jaiswal from both ODI squads has prompted a response from former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who questioned the decision given that Shubman Gill will miss the final two ODIs. Ishan Kishan has instead been chosen to open alongside Rohit Sharma. In the Test squad, Jasprit Bumrah returns to red-ball cricket while Rishabh Pant's participation is subject to fitness clearance. The two-Test series begins on November 19, 2026, in Wellington.
