Former cricketers stood up for Shami, Akshar and Arshdeep, scolded Gambhir and Gill for not being included in the team.

IND vs NZ ODI Series: Yesterday i.e. Sunday (January 11, 2026) the first ODI was played between India and New Zealand. In which Arshdeep Singh was not given a chance in the playing eleven. After which Priyank Panchal and R Ashwin raised questions. Former cricketer Priyank Panchal questioned the continuous exclusion of Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami and Axar Patel from the ODI team for the first match against New Zealand.

The first ODI between India and New Zealand begins on Sunday, January 11, 2026, at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Vadodara. After India’s 2-1 win in South Africa late last year, debate has already started regarding the team selection in the first match of this series.

Siraj, Iyer and Gill have returned

Panchal wrote on the social media platform during the match that Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill returned to the Indian team, while Harshit Rana and Washington Sundar were also selected. This meant that there was no place for Arshdeep Singh. Panchal directly questioned the logic behind giving preference to Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana over more experienced names. Don’t get me wrong. I like Washington and Harshit as players. Even famous ones. He has a lot of talent. But I don’t understand why players like Akshar, Shami Bhai, Arshdeep are not in the team in their place. This is wrong beyond a certain point.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Washi and Harshit as players. Even Prasidh for that matter. Loads of talent. But I don’t see how the likes of Axar, Shami bhai, Arshdeep miss the cut for them. It’s unjustifiable after a point. #INDvNZ

— Priyank Panchal (@PKpanchal09) January 11, 2026

Shikhar Dhawan Engagement: Shikhar Dhawan got engaged to his girlfriend Sophie Shine, announced on Instagram himself

Shami is performing brilliantly in domestic cricket

Mohammed Shami entered the new year as Bengal’s top wicket-taker in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, taking 15 wickets in seven matches. Apart from this, Axar Patel proved his worth by scoring his first List A century against Andhra. However, both of them are not part of the team for this series. R Ashwin also wrote a post on social media platform X expressing his displeasure over Arshdeep being dropped from the team. In which he said that Arshdeep had taken five wickets in three matches against South Africa at an economy rate of 5.5.

Where-is-deep Singh? That’s all #INDvsNZ

– Ashwin (@ashwinravi99) January 11, 2026

Rishabh and Sundar sustained injuries

Adding to India’s selection challenges, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was ruled out of the series due to an injury suffered during a net session. In his place, in-form Dhruv Jurel was officially named by the Board of Control for Cricket in India as Pant’s replacement. Apart from this, Washington Sundar also got injured during the first match. Due to which, after the match, BCCI announced that Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the remaining two ODI matches and Ayush Badoni has been included in the team as his replacement.

Who is Vaishnavi Sharma? Whose father had already seen the future, know here how she became a cricketer.

The post Former cricketers stood up for Shami, Akshar and Arshdeep, scolded Gambhir and Gill for not being included in the team appeared first on Latest.