Auckland: India captain Shubman Gill has laid out his batting blueprint for the five-match ODI series against New Zealand, confirming that the top four is settled while the middle order will stay flexible, a day before the series opener at Eden Park in Auckland on November 4.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Gill named himself alongside Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer as the locked-in top four. The captain’s message was simple: the first four places will not change, but positions five and six will be decided by the state of the game.
“We will have a floating approach for No. 5 and No. 6. Our top four is set, all right-handers. So if a lefty is needed, Axar bhai goes and depending on the match situation even KL bhai can go. So a bit flexible,” Gill said, in remarks reported by multiple outlets covering the press conference.
That flexibility is a deliberate tactical choice rather than indecision. With four right-handers at the top, India can use left-arm spinner and all-rounder Axar Patel to break up a right-handed run and to change the match-up against New Zealand’s bowlers. KL Rahul, one of the most experienced middle-order options in the squad, offers the other route — a right-handed anchor who can bat through the middle overs or accelerate late, depending on what the innings demands.
Gill also moved to settle any concern about his own fitness. The captain suffered a cervical disc bulge and neck spasm late in 2025, an injury that kept him out for nearly a month, but he said on Tuesday that he has completed full batting and fielding sessions without discomfort. He reported batting for close to 90 minutes in training and taking part in fielding drills with no recurrence of the problem, clearing the way for him to lead the side in Auckland.
The series also marks a return to the ODI format for Rohit and Kohli in a New Zealand tour that has already produced a hard-fought T20I contest, which India won 3-2. Gill will captain the first three ODIs, with Shreyas Iyer set to take over for the final two matches, a split already announced when the squads were named.
Gill also gave an update on Hardik Pandya, who has not played international cricket since the IPL and recently picked up a niggle before an India A fixture. The captain said the team management has been in regular conversation with the all-rounder and hopes he will play domestic cricket to regain match fitness before returning. “Not many in the world have what he can do,” Gill said of Pandya’s all-round value, adding that his return would also settle India’s No. 7 and No. 8 positions ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
New Zealand, meanwhile, will be without two key batters for the whole ODI series — Rachin Ravindra and Mark Chapman are both ruled out through injury, as covered in our companion report — which changes the balance of the home side even before a ball is bowled in Auckland.
The five-match series runs from November 4 in Auckland, with the second ODI in Wellington on November 7 and the third in Hamilton on November 10, before the final two matches in Mount Maunganui on November 13 and 15. For India, the Auckland opener is a chance to set the tone early: a settled top order, a flexible middle, and a captain who says he is fully fit and ready to lead from the front.
