Shubman Gill explains Arshdeep Singh omission for India vs New Zealand 1st ODI: 'Giving everyone chance' – Firstpost

Mohammed Siraj returned to ODI cricket on Sunday after missing the series against South Africa but to accommodate him India had to drop Arshdeep Singh from their bowling attack for the first match of the series against New Zealand in Vadodara.

India won the series opener in a nervy chase at the BCA Stadium but the absence of Arshdeep from the bowling line-up raised eyebrows. Fans and experts both could not understand the logic behind dropping the left-arm pacer who was India’s lead pacer in an inexperienced bowling attack against South Africa.

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Arshdeep has been a regular in T20Is and was also part of the 2024 T20 World Cup winning side. In ODIs, the left-armer has impressed in the limited chances that he has got. However, he warmed the bench on Sunday and played no part in India’s four-wicket success.

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Gill explains why Arshdeep was dropped

India ODI captain Shubman Gill was asked about Arshdeep’s exclusion from the side after the match and he noted that the left-arm pacer was not exactly dropped but just sat out due to rotation policy among pacers. The skipper stressed that India wanted to give everyone chance in the format with an eye on the 2027 Cricket World Cup.

“(It is) More about rotation, Arshdeep did well in the last series and Siraj wasn’t part of that, so we want to keep giving everyone opportunities as we build towards the World Cup, especially with not too many ODIs coming up,” Gill mentioned at the post match presentation ceremony.

Siraj, who replaced Arshdeep in the pace bowling attack, picked up a couple of wickets and was the most economical bowler for India. In his eight overs, the right-arm pacer gave away 40 runs and accounted for the wickets of Will Young and Zakary Foulkes. In fact, all three Indian pacers, Siraj, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna, picked up two wickets each to stop New Zealand at 300/8 in 50 overs.

Virat Kohli then led India’s chase with a fluent 93 with Shubman Gill also scoring 56 and Shreyas Iyer contributing 49. India seemed set to victory the contest easily before Kyle Jamieson threatened to turn the event with his four-wicket haul. Rana played a crucial late cameo before KL Rahul took the mannschaft over the line with a couple of boundaries and a six to finish off the match.

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The second ODI of the series takes place in Rajkot on Wednesday and Arshdeep would hope to get the benefit of the rotation policy there.

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