IND vs NZ 2026: Irfan Pathan picks India’s playing 11 for 1st ODI, selects Rishabh Pant instead of KL Rahul

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan made an interesting choice as he picked Rishabh Pant and not KL Rahul for the wicketkeeper's slot while predicting India's playing XI for the first ODI against New

Zealand at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday, January 11.

It is important to note that Pant has not played an ODI since August 2024, as Rahul has been India's first-choice wicketkeeper in the format. Pathan believes that the three-match ODI series could be a great opportunity to give Rahul a breather and test out Pant.

Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer have made their comebacks to the Indian team after missing the ODIs against South Africa due to injuries. Pathan kept both of them in his playing XI and also picked three all-rounders - Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Washington Sundar - to add balance and depth to the side.

In the seam-bowling department, Pathan feels that the trio of Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Siraj could play in tandem. However, the 2007 T20 World Cup winner also mentioned that either Harshit or Arshdeep might have to sit out in order to accommodate Kuldeep Yadav. 

"Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana/Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh/Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj," the cricketer-turned-expert said on his YouTube channel.

India's last ODI assignment was the 2-1 win against South Africa last month. During the series, KL Rahul led the Men in Blue, while Pant was the backup keeper. The latter has an underwhelming record in ODIs, having scored 871 runs in 31 matches at an average of 33.5.

Apart from Gill and Iyer, the much-awaited series against the Kiwis marks the return of Siraj to the white-ball format in the international arena. He was a part of India's squad for the tour of Australia in October. However, he was left out of the side for the games against South Africa.