Shubman Gill set to play first match of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26

India's ODI and Test skipper Shubman Gill is ready to play his first game of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 on January 6. As per BCCI guidelines, all the players are supposed to take part in the tournament and play a minimum of two games. But Gill was recovering from an injury and then had food poisoning due to which he couldn't play in the first five games of the domestic tournament. 

Now, he is fit and will be playing in the upcoming match on January 6. Punjab is led by Prabhsimran Singh in the absence of Abhishek Sharma. The left-handed batter played in the first few games but then took rest for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand. Abhishek is in an incredible form, playing some stunning games for India. 

Punjab Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Anmolpreet Singh, Salil Arora, Arshdeep Singh, Vasuki Koushik, Lalit Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harnoor Singh, Harpreet Brar, Suyash Prabhudessai, Jashanpreet Singh, Krish Bhagat, Naman Dhir, Prabhsimran Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sanvir Singh, Raghu Sharma and Shubman Gill. 

Shubman Gill to lead India in ODI series vs New Zealand

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, naming Shubman Gill as the captain. His fitness is perfect and is ready to lead the team. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer is also back in the squad but his availablity is subjective to his fitness clearance from the medical team.

Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are set to feature once again in the ODI series against the Kiwis. After incredible performance in Australia and against South Africa, they will be back in action once again. The senior players participated in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 and played two games. In the first game both the players slammed a century while in the second game, Kohli scored 77 and Rohit went out on a duck. 

Where to watch IND vs NZ matches?

Cricket fans in India can watch the India vs New Zealand matches from January 11 online on JioHotstar, via OTTplay Premium.

Also read: Former India bowler blames Test series loss against SA on Kohli-Rohit transition, makes eye-opening claim