Bad news for Team India fans, 2 star players may be barred from New Zealand ODI series

By Samira Vishwas On Dec 30, 2025

Five T20 International matches will be played in Nagpur (January 21), Raipur (January 23), Guwahati (January 25), Visakhapatnam (January 28) and Thiruvananthapuram (January 31), before which three ODI matches will be played on January 11 (Baroda), January 14 (Rajkot) and January 18 (Indore). It is difficult to consider the names of Bumrah and Pandya for the ODI team, so that they remain fit and fresh for the T20 International matches. The ODI team may be announced on January 4 or 5.

It is believed that the team management has decided that these two players, who are very important to India’s goal of retaining the T20 World Cup trophy, will be kept out of the ODIs. Hardik Pandya plays only limited overs cricket and has not played any ODI since the Champions Trophy final in March due to fitness issues. Jasprit Bumrah, whose workload is being closely monitored given his importance to the team, has not played in an ODI since the 2023 World Cup final.

However, Pandya may be seen playing some Vijay Hazare Trophy matches for Baroda, due to BCCI’s mandate to play domestic cricket. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have also played two matches of Vijay Hazare Trophy. The last three league matches of Baroda’s Vijay Hazare Trophy will be held on January 3, 6 and 8 and Pandya can play in them.

Apart from this, Shreyas Iyer can also return to the field after the injury suffered during the Australia tour in October. According to reports, he can play for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Maharashtra on January 3. Iyer, who has undergone surgery for his injury and is currently at the BCCI Center of Excellence. To test his fitness, he can play a match against Maharashtra in Jaipur, but at this time it is not clear whether he will play ODI or not.