The BCCI senior men’s selection committee announced India’s squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand last Saturday (January 3).

The 15-member squad had Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer returning as captain and vice-captain respectively after the two missed the preceding ODI series against South Africa due to injuries.

KL Rahul, who led India against South Africa in Gill's absence, will play as the first-choice wicketkeeper against New Zealand. Rishabh Pant retained his place in the squad as a reserve wicketkeeper.

However, the biggest talking point was the absence of Ruturaj Gaikwad, who showcased his brilliance by hitting a hundred against the Proteas in Iyer’s absence.

Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa also questioned Gaikwad’s omission from the ODI side and advised the CSK skipper to continue focusing on hard work.

"Buddy, it's very hard to process. You have to make it make sense, right? It takes a toll, and you need to almost find silver linings to lean back on. In these circumstances, it's not the easiest thing to do. It's hectic, and you've got to find a way to see the positives," Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.

"One of the challenges with Indian cricket is that you're constantly operating in survival mode. To switch from that mindset takes an immense amount of resilience, self-talk and positive reinforcement. You have to be someone who looks for silver linings," he added.

Uthappa went on to claim that players often have to struggle harder to secure their spot in the Indian team if they don’t belong to major cricketing centres such as Mumbai, Delhi or Punjab.

"You have to keep fighting, especially if you don't come from one of the three big states in India - Mumbai, Delhi or Punjab. If you're not from one of those states, you have to keep pushing yourself," Uthappa remarked.

Having made his ODI debut in 2022, Ruturaj Gaikwad has played nine matches so far. He has scored 228 runs at an average of 28.50, including one hundred and a half-century.

India's ODI squad for the New Zealand series: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vc; subject to fitness clearance), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal.