Super Kings Player Tracker: Two more CSK players have been picked for the New Zealand tour. Follow them on the Super Kings Player Tracker: Gaikwad and Kamboj.
Hello Yellow Army! Earlier I covered the T20I and India A squads for the New Zealand tour, where Samson, Dube, Mukesh and Kamboj were picked. Now the BCCI has announced the ODI and Test squads, and two of our CSK players are in them - Ruturaj Gaikwad and Anshul Kamboj.
The tour at a glance
| Format | Dates | CSK players |
|---|---|---|
| T20Is (5) | 22 October to 1 November | Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube |
| ODIs (5) | 4 to 15 November | Ruturaj Gaikwad, Anshul Kamboj (1st to 3rd) |
| Tests (2) | 19 and 27 November | Anshul Kamboj |
| India A (3 multi-day matches) | 24 to 27 Oct (Lincoln), 31 Oct to 3 Nov (Christchurch), 7 to 10 Nov (Lincoln) | Mukesh Choudhary, Anshul Kamboj |
India ODI squads
India will play five ODIs, in Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton and two in Mount Maunganui, from 4 to 15 November. There are two different squads. Shubman Gill leads the first three ODIs, with Shreyas Iyer as his deputy, and Shreyas Iyer then captains the 4th and 5th ODIs, with Ishan Kishan as vice-captain.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad is in both ODI squads, so he is in the plans for all five matches. He had a decent run against West Indies, with 13 not out, 31 not out in the chase of 406 and then 57 off 69. After a quiet India A series, it is a good vote of confidence. He has also been named in Maharashtra's Ranji Trophy team for Round 2 against Jharkhand, so he will get some red ball game time before he leaves.
- Anshul Kamboj is in the squad for the first three ODIs, but not the 4th and 5th. He made his ODI debut against West Indies, where he scored 17 off 9 and went wicketless for 82 in 9 overs, so this is a second chance after a tough first game.
India Test squad
Shubman Gill captains the Test side, with KL Rahul as vice-captain. The two Tests are on 19 November in Wellington and 27 November in Christchurch.
- Anshul Kamboj is the one CSK name here. After a good start to the Ranji Trophy, with 6 wickets in Round 1, the selectors have clearly noticed his red ball form. Being in both the Test squad and the ODI squad is a big step for him this season.
Ranji Trophy before they fly out
Good news is that these players are not coming straight into the tour cold, as all of them have some red ball cricket around it:
- Ruturaj Gaikwad has been named in Maharashtra's team for the Ranji Trophy Round 2 match against Jharkhand, starting 18 October, so he will get a game before the ODIs begin on 4 November.
- Anshul Kamboj has already played his Round 1 match for Haryana, with 4/56 and 2/18 and a 7 wicket win, as we covered in our Round 1 wrap up.
- Mukesh Choudhary also played in Round 1, taking 1/32 and finishing unbeaten on 12 as Maharashtra beat Services by 127 runs. He will now miss Round 2 for India A duty.
What about the other CSK players?
- Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube are in the T20I squad for the five matches from 22 October to 1 November. Samson already had a good and a bad week recently, with 82 off 41 in the 2nd T20I, 3 off 6 in the 3rd and a quick 56 off 23 in the 4th, so his chance in New Zealand is a big one.
- Mukesh Choudhary is in the India A squad, which is why he will miss Maharashtra's Ranji Trophy Round 2 match against Jharkhand. The squad, led by Dhruv Jurel, also has Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Sai Sudharsan. India A play three multi-day matches against New Zealand A: 24 to 27 October in Lincoln, 31 October to 3 November in Christchurch, and 7 to 10 November in Lincoln.
- Kamboj is also in the India A squad, as he was named in it earlier for the same tour, so he is picked in all three squads. The dates are interesting, because the 3rd India A match (7 to 10 November) clashes with the ODIs, which start on 4 November. So he could only be available for the first two India A matches before joining the senior team, and we will have to see how it is split.
My take
As a CSK fan, I feel it is a great sign to see five of our players on the tour across different formats. Gaikwad being picked in the ODIs means he is still in contention for ODI WC 2027 squad even after a quiet India A and West Indies ODI series. But it also means we will not see much of him in the Ranji Trophy. The Kamboj story is even better. A bowler with 6 wickets in a Ranji game, a Test squad spot and an ODI squad spot within a month is a rise we do not see often - thanks to his consistent performance for India A. It also adds to a good problem for CSK: many of our domestic and India stars will be away from the franchise, but all of them will come back more experienced.
I will add every update on the Super Kings Player Tracker. Who do you want to see play in New Zealand?
Stay healthy stay yellow.