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2026 started on a positive note for India and Shubman Gill as far as the toss is concerned. The ODI captain won the flip of the coin in the first ODI of the three-match series against New Zealand at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday. As expected, the 26-year-old opted to bowl, and during a conversation with broadcaster Ravi Shastri, New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell confirmed that the Indian-origin Adithya Ashok is featuring in the lineup as the frontline spinner.
It is worth mentioning that Ashok has already played 2 ODIs and 1 T20I for the Black Caps, taking two wickets across the two formats. The leg spinner is known to be a vicious spinner of the ball.
If you are wondering about the youngster, we’ve got you covered. Ashok was born in Vellore in Tamil Nadu. His family moved to New Zealand when he was just four years old. He then made his debut for the Kiwis in 2023, three years after representing the team in the U19 World Cup in 2020, held in South Africa.
In 2023, he also registered the figures of 7/103 in the four-day Plunket Shield fixture while playing for Auckland against Northern Districts at Eden Park. Before the start of play in the first ODI, former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull shed further light on Ashok and why he’s rated highly within the cricket fraternity.
“Chennai boy, originally from Tamil Nadu and then his parents moved to Singapore, and then he found jobs in New Zealand at a hospital, both in the hospital in Auckland and New Zealand. So, been there since the age of four, following in the footsteps of Ish Sodhi, of Ajaz Patel, Indian born, playing for New Zealand,” said Doull on JioHotstar.
“We love them. Send more. Send more our way. We’re always looking for good spinners. Folks, if you’re any good, 13, 14, 15, a little bit younger, come on out,” he added.
No place for Arshdeep Singh
Speaking about the Indian playing XI, there was no room for Arshdeep Singh as the hosts opted to go with Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna as the frontline pacers.
Speaking at the toss, India captain Gill said, “Everyone is coming after playing some matches, so everyone looks in good form. We’ve played a lot of cricket together, so you know, the environment is always nice and calm whenever we get together.”
Here are the playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay(w), Michael Bracewell(c), Zakary Foulkes, Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Adithya Ashok
