MUMBAI: The Indian team for the five-match ODI series for India’s upcoming tour of New Zealand will be picked “in the next two-three days,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told TOI on Wednesday.“We will select India’s ODI team in the next two or three days,” Saikia told this paper.It’s understood that pacers Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana will undergo a Return to Play (RTP) tests on Oct 24 or 26 at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, after which the selectors are likely to announce the Indian team for the two-Test series, set to start in Wellington from Nov 19.On Thursday, both the Indian men’s and women’s teams will be felicitated by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi following their gold medal-winning campaigns at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.The Pragyan Ojha-led selection committee has already picked India’s T20I squad for the five-match T20I series in New Zealand, which will start from Oct 22. The five-match ODI series will start on Nov 4 in Auckland. It’s understood that Ojha met Team India captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir, celebrating his 45th birthday, in Hyderabad on Wednesday, for the first time since the BCCI asked him to take over as the interim chairman of the national selection committee.Amongst the newcomers, one of the strong contenders for a berth is Mumbai’s seam-bowling all-rounder Suryansh Shedge, who has emerged as a strong contender to earn his maiden ODI call-up following a couple of impressive performances in the recently-concluded List A series against Australia A in Puducherry.The 23-year-old Shedge, who played three T20Is for India in England, recently returned to competitive cricket after recovering from a hamstring injury and, replacing injured senior India allrounder Hardik Pandya, impressed with both bat and ball, taking four 40 four wickets with his seam bowling, and then scoring 66 in a winning cause in the final One-dayer.Pandya’s prolonged absence from competitive cricket due to a spate of injuries, and the drop in performance and Pandya’s next-best alternative, seam bowling allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, may work in favour of Shedge, who is set to join the Mumbai team for its second 2026-27 season Ranji Trophy match against Himachal, which will start from Oct 18 in Bilaspur.The fifth ODI in Tauranga will be played on November 15, while the first Test in Wellington begins on November 19, which means that like New Zealand, India too will pick a ‘split squad’ for the ODI series, as a few regular India players may prepare with he red ball in order to prepare for a crucial World Test Championship series.Candidates interviewed for Junior selection panelMeanwhile, on Tuesday, the BCCI’s two-member Cricket Advisory Committee comprising former India batters Ashok Malhotra and Jatin Paranjape interviewed a few candidates for the post of junior selection committee, via zoom call.
