Fresh year, fierce fight

HL: Fresh year, fierce fight

Strap: This Sunday brings a new captain, old rivals and high stakes as India, New Zealand clash to open 2026 

Blurb:

India ride into the clash after a tight 2-1 win over South Africa, while New Zealand, ruthless, relentless steamrolled West Indies 3-0 at home. And as the two sides square off yet again, a handful of names could tilt the series on its axis.

 

Byline: Rakesh Ganesh

 

Shubman Gill steps into the spotlight as India’s new ODI captain, guiding a 15-member squad into a high-stakes three-match showdown this week. And in a twist, few saw coming, Rishabh Pant has made the cut, a welcome return after swirling doubts about his place.

Shreyas Iyer returns as Gill’s right-hand man, donning the vice-captain’s badge. Yet, the selection room wasn’t without its surprises. Mohammed Shami, despite roaring back into rhythm in domestic cricket, finds himself watching from the sidelines.

Across the pitch, New Zealand arrive lighter, armed with youthful exuberance rather than their star-studded core, while India look close to full strength and hungry. Buckle in, the real story lies beneath the surface.

 

KIWIS challenge awaits

A fresh cricketing chapter opens in Vadodara on Sunday, as India and New Zealand launch their first international duel of 2026. Both teams arrive hungry, eager to plant their flag early in the new year. The caravan then darts west to Rajkot, before the final act unfolds under Indore’s bright lights on January 18.

Momentum crackles beneath the surface. India ride into the clash after a tight 2-1 win over South Africa, while New Zealand, ruthless, relentless steamrolled West Indies 3-0 at home. And as the two sides square off yet again, a handful of names could tilt the series on its axis.

Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer pulls on India colours for the first time since October 2025, the comeback story finally reaching its next chapter. A mid-tour injury in Australia haltered him, but not for long. The vice-captain has been one of India’s most reliable run-machines in ODIs, and with a glittering half-century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy already behind him, he returns with rhythm, intent and unfinished business.

Shubman Gill

The spotlight now finds the skipper. After sitting out the South Africa ODIs with injury and with the sting of a pre–T20 World Cup omission still lingering, Shubman Gill returns with a point to prove and a bat ready to speak. His ODI mastery is unquestioned; New Zealand have already tasted it first-hand courtesy of his double ton. With captaincy on his shoulders and opportunity ahead, Kiwi bowlers may once again be in the firing line.

Will Young

Back in India, and carrying the ghosts of dominance past. Will Young famously tormented the hosts in 2024 with a Player-of-the-Series showing as New Zealand handed India a stunning 3-0 Test whitewash. Since then, the right-hander has grown into an ODI heavyweight, highlighted by a hundred against Pakistan in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Yet India have kept him quiet recently, including in the tournament final. With Williamson and Ravindra absent, Young arrives as the Kiwis’ tone-setter and very much their danger man.

Rohit Sharma

Experience meets ruthless freedom. Rohit Sharma, fresh off a pair of gritty fifties against South Africa and a blistering 62-ball century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, seems to be batting with less restraint and more fire than ever. Against a youthful New Zealand attack, the veteran may well unleash the full range of his muscle and imagination. And if the sixes start flying, even the biggest boundaries may feel short.

King Kohli to Reign Supreme?

If 2025 belonged to anyone in Indian cricket, it was Virat Kohli. The ODI titan aged like fine steel, sharpening himself with every innings until he stood atop India’s run-scoring charts for the year. He finished as the second-best batter in the ICC ODI rankings at 37, an age when most willow-wielders fade, not flourish.

Yet Kohli’s intensity, the glare, the pursuit, the manic hunger for runs refuses to dim. Now 2026 beckons, and once again the stage looks perfectly set for him. New Zealand know the threat all too well. The Kiwis have never won an ODI series on Indian soil and Kohli has long been one of the most immovable obstacles in their path. They don’t need scouting reports or captain’s briefings to know why. The numbers, cold and merciless, are already screaming.

Across 33 ODI innings, Kohli has carved New Zealand for 1657 runs, at a bruising average of 55.23. Six centuries, nine half-centuries, and a towering top score of 154* these are not just statistics, they’re scars. He began troubling them as a sprightly youngster in 2010. Sixteen years later, a beard flecked with grey, he’s still tormenting them, if anything, with more command than ever.

Chase for Milestones

Kohli’s 2025 form was a masterclass in longevity meeting execution.
13 matches. 651 runs. Average 65.10. Three hundreds. Four fifties.
No rust, no slowing down, no hesitation, just a familiar rhythm of acceleration and dominance.

And now, 2026 arrives carrying milestone after milestone within touching distance:

94 more runs: Kohli goes past Sachin Tendulkar for most runs in India-New Zealand ODIs.

42 more runs: He slides into second place for most international runs ever.

25 more runs: He becomes the fastest man in history to reach 28,000 international runs.

Every series matters. Every innings matters. Every ball he faces is potentially rewriting cricket’s record book.

Kohli turns 38 this year. Eighteen years of international cricket have passed under his bat, the triumphs, the tears, the trophies, the transformation from prodigy to G.O.A.T. contender. Yet, this is no farewell tour.

There is no backing away from the cauldron. Kohli has streamlined his cricket to ODIs, conserving his fire for the game he wants to finish with a flourish. And somewhere on the horizon glimmers his next target – South Africa, late 2027, the World Cup.

It’s ambitious. It’s daunting. But if there’s one cricketer who has never stepped back from the grind, the scrutiny, or the chase, it’s him. Mission 2027 begins now, with a bat in hand and the Kiwis once again in the firing line.