IND vs NZ ODI squad: Why is Hardik Pandya missing from India’s 15-member team? BCCI explains | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s absence from India’s ODI plans has drawn attention, especially after the squad for the New Zealand series was announced on Saturday. The right-handed batter has not been cleared by the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence to bowl a full 10-over spell in an ODI.
With the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup coming up, the team management has decided not to rush him back and instead focus on managing his workload carefully. For the team management, the priority is to keep 32-year-old Pandya fully fit for major tournaments rather than pushing him in bilateral ODIs.India’s selection committee has named a strong squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, starting January 11 in Vadodara. Shubman Gill will captain the side, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returning to the ODI setup. Shreyas Iyer has been named vice-captain, though his availability depends on fitness clearance from the BCCI COE. The squad also includes KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant as wicketkeepers, along with all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy. The bowling unit features Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav.“Hardik Pandya has not been cleared by the BCCI COE to bowl 10 overs in a match, and considering the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to follow, his workload is being managed,” said the statement.While Pandya is missing from ODIs, his form with the bat remains outstanding. On Saturday in Rajkot, he produced a stunning innings for Baroda in the Vijay Hazare Trophy against Vidarbha. Baroda were struggling at 71 for 5 when Hardik came to the crease. He rebuilt the innings calmly before exploding in the 39th over and smashed five sixes and a four to collect 34 runs in six balls. That blitzkrieg took him from 66 to a century in just 68 balls.Hardik finished with 133 off 92 balls, hitting 11 sixes and 8 fours. Earlier, in India’s T20I series against South Africa, Pandya had played several eye-catching knocks and even completed 100 T20I wickets with his effective bowling.
