India captain Shubman Gill has broken his silence on the much-debated decision to leave out Arshdeep Singh from the playing XI for the first ODI against New Zealand, insisting it was purely a matter of “rotation” as the team looks ahead to bigger goals. Speaking after India’s win on Sunday, Gill explained that Mohammed Siraj was picked to give him an opportunity to make a statement, much like Arshdeep had done during the recent South Africa series.
Arshdeep’s omission raised eyebrows because the left-arm pacer had been one of India’s most consistent bowlers in the Proteas series. He picked up five wickets across three matches, taking at least one in every game at an average of 30.80.
Naturally, fans were surprised to see him miss out, especially when Siraj, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna were preferred. Even Ravichandran Ashwin weighed in, suggesting that a lack of continuity can hurt a bowler’s rhythm and long-term performance.
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Despite the noise, India’s pace attack delivered. Siraj, Rana and Prasidh all picked up two wickets each to restrict New Zealand to a competitive but chaseable 300 for 8. The hosts eventually hunted down the target in 49 overs, showing that the selection call, while controversial, did not hurt them on the day.
Shubman Gill clarified the thinking behind the move, saying, “It was 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.”
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With the bat, Gill continued his solid form, scoring 56 off 71 balls, while Virat Kohli once again stole the show with a fluent 93. Although the chase became slightly scrappy in the middle, KL Rahul and Harshit Rana played calm cameos to see India home.
Gill also revealed that Washington Sundar, who picked up an injury during the match, will undergo scans, adding another layer of concern for India as the New Zealand series progresses.
