The cricketing spotlight shone brightly on Rajkot on January 14, 2026, as India and New Zealand squared off in the second ODI of their three-match series at the Niranjan Shah Stadium. With India holding a 1-0 lead after a hard-fought opener in Vadodara, both teams entered the contest with fresh faces and strategic tweaks, but it was the selection of Nitish Kumar Reddy for India and Jayden Lennox’s debut for New Zealand that stole much of the pre-match chatter.
New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell won the toss, breaking India’s rare streak of toss victories, and elected to bowl first. This decision, as Bracewell explained, was influenced by the hope that dew later in the evening would aid batting, making the pitch skid and potentially easing a chase under lights. "It looks like a really good surface, and hopefully the dew comes into play later in the evening, which should make things a bit nicer for batting under lights," Bracewell remarked, eyeing tactical conditions that could tip the balance in New Zealand’s favor.
India’s captain Shubman Gill, however, would have preferred to bat first regardless. "We would actually have preferred to bat first, based on the last few games here. Even yesterday there wasn’t much dew, and the players feel the surface tends to slow down as the innings goes on, so batting first looked the better option," Gill said, referencing the ground’s history of successful first-innings scores and the pitch’s tendency to deteriorate.
The team sheets revealed significant changes. India brought in seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy to replace the injured Washington Sundar, who was sidelined with a left rib injury and will be assessed by the BCCI medical team. Reddy’s inclusion over Ayush Badoni suggested that the Indian think tank valued seam options and batting depth over offspin variety for this match. For New Zealand, left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox was handed his ODI debut, coming in for leg-spinner Adithya Ashok. Lennox’s List A record, with an economy rate just over four runs per over and an average of 1.25 wickets per match, hinted at a promising, if untested, addition to the Kiwi attack.
India’s playing XI boasted a familiar top order: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), and Ravindra Jadeja. The middle and lower order was bolstered by Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna. New Zealand countered with Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell (captain), Zakary Foulkes, Jayden Lennox, Kyle Jamieson, and Kristian Clarke.
The build-up to Reddy’s selection wasn’t without controversy. Former India opener Aakash Chopra raised pointed questions about the way the Indian team management and selectors have handled the 22-year-old all-rounder. In a video shared on his official X account, Chopra voiced his confusion: "Are the India Team selectors and coaching staff not aligned?" He wondered whether captain Shubman Gill and coach Gautam Gambhir saw eye to eye with chief selector Ajit Agarkar regarding Reddy’s role. According to Chopra, selectors view Reddy as a player who offers balance and could serve as a backup for Hardik Pandya, but the team management appears less convinced.
Chopra’s concerns weren’t unfounded. Reddy, though picked across formats, has often found himself either benched or underutilized. After making waves in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, his form dipped in 2025, leading to limited opportunities. He played only one Test in the recent South Africa series, failing to leave a mark with either bat or ball. Still, Reddy impressed in domestic tournaments, including a hat-trick for Andhra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 against Madhya Pradesh, reinforcing his credentials as a genuine allrounder. Chopra’s suggestion was clear: if Reddy isn’t going to get regular chances for India, he should return to domestic cricket to stay match-ready.
The debate over Reddy’s selection was further fueled by a broader analysis of India’s search for a Washington Sundar replacement. As one columnist observed, the choice between Ayush Badoni and Nitish Kumar Reddy is less about like-for-like skills and more about what the team values in a given match. Sundar is prized for his left-handed batting and reliable offspin, providing control and match-up options in the middle overs. Badoni, a flexible middle-order bat with some offbreaks, mirrors Sundar’s skill type but lacks the reliability to bowl a full quota of overs in ODIs or T20s against top opposition. His value lies in tactical disruption—a couple of overs to break rhythm or target a specific match-up—rather than as a bowling allrounder.
Reddy, in contrast, is a genuine allrounder—capable of contributing in the middle order with the bat and offering seam bowling that gives the captain clear predictability and workload management. "If India’s goal is to replace Sundar’s guaranteed overs, Badoni doesn’t yet project as a 10-overs-in-an-ODI option or a four-overs-in-a-T20 option against top-level batting," the analysis noted. Reddy’s presence, then, allows India to maintain balance between batting and bowling, freeing up the captain to make more flexible bowling changes without sacrificing depth in either department.
This selection philosophy was evident in Rajkot. With the pitch expected to slow down and not favor spinners excessively, India opted for Reddy’s seam and batting depth over Badoni’s offspin. As the columnist summarized, "If the game is about batting depth and seam overs, Reddy is the sturdier bet for India right now, in most conditions, across formats, right away." The decision to leave Arshdeep Singh on the bench and stick with a seam-bowling allrounder underscored India’s intent to manage overs effectively through the middle and at the death, especially on slower decks.
For New Zealand, the challenge was as much about the atmosphere as the opposition. Bracewell acknowledged, "We’ve got a lot of young players in this side, and playing in front of big crowds and all that noise is a great learning experience for them. It’s different conditions for us here, especially with 40,000 people backing the home side, but it’s a challenge we’re really excited about." The debut of Lennox, with his promising domestic record, added a layer of intrigue to the Kiwi lineup, especially as they looked to keep taking wickets through the middle and build pressure.
With both teams making strategic adjustments and the series finely poised, the second ODI in Rajkot promised high drama. As the action unfolded, all eyes were on how Reddy would seize his opportunity and whether Lennox could make an immediate impact on debut. The ongoing contest was not just a battle between bat and ball, but a showcase of evolving team philosophies and the ever-present balancing act between youth, experience, and tactical nuance in international cricket.
As the match progressed under the Rajkot lights, fans and pundits alike watched closely to see if the calculated gambles—Nitish Kumar Reddy for India and Jayden Lennox for New Zealand—would pay off. One thing was certain: the series was alive with possibility, and the cricketing world was tuned in for every twist and turn.
