5 Star Players Snubbed for India's New Zealand ODI Squad Despite Red-Hot Form

• BCCI announced India's 15-member ODI squad for the New Zealand series starting January 11, 2026, in Vadodara.
• Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mohammed Shami, Devdutt Padikkal, Axar Patel, and Tilak Varma were notably excluded.
• Gaikwad recently scored his maiden ODI century and is performing well in Vijay Hazare Trophy.
• Padikkal slammed four centuries in five Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 matches for Karnataka.
• Experienced Shami, T20I vice-captain Axar, and young Tilak Varma also missed out despite strong domestic showings.

Why It Matters: Several in-form players were surprisingly left out of India's ODI squad for the New Zealand series.