Kohli, Sharma Star as India Battles NZ in 1st ODI

India faces New Zealand in the 1st ODI. Rohit Sharma targets Jacques Kallis's record, while Dhruv Jurel replaces injured Rishabh Pant. Don't miss the action!

The Indian men's cricket team is set to commence its 2026 campaign by facing New Zealand in the first One Day International (ODI) match. This significant fixture will take place at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara, marking the return of the team to action.

Star batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are expected to lead the charge, carrying their strong 2025 form into the new year. Kohli is on the cusp of several personal milestones, while Sharma has an opportunity to climb the all-time ODI charts by overtaking Proteas legend Jacques Kallis.

In a notable team change, Rishabh Pant has been officially ruled out of the entire series due to injury. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed this earlier, announcing that Dhruv Jurel has been brought in as Pant's replacement for the upcoming matches.

Disclaimer: This story has been auto-aggregated and auto-summarised by a computer program. This story has not been edited or created by the Feedzop team.