India managed to clinch the five-match ODI series against New Zealand 3-1, with the bowling unit defending 209 in the final game on Sunday, November 15. There were several talking points ahead of and during the series, with the 2027 ODI World Cup less than a year away. We take a look at some key takeaways for India following the series win.

The former skipper has been under a constant scanner regarding his spot in the side, and this tour hasn't helped him one bit. In four innings, Rohit managed to score only 30 runs with the highest of 23 in the second ODI, and failed to buy a run in two of the innings.

Rohit had a good stretch of four games prior to this series with two centuries and a 92, but this tour has once again exposed his issues against the moving ball. With the World Cup to be hosted in South Africa (and Zimbabwe & Namibia), this could be a big concern for the team.

Shubman Gill's struggles outside Asia

Like his opening partner, the Indian ODI captain also had a poor series, scoring 37 off 56 in the first game and a duck in the second. The bigger picture, however, is his numbers outside Asia in this format. He has played 20 innings in Australia, England, New Zealand, and West Indies, scoring at 44.47 and striking at 88.31 - significantly down from his career numbers. He has six fifties in these countries but has failed to register a century.

Gill is yet to feature in an ODI in South Africa, and with the marquee tournament approaching fast, India needed to give him as much time in seaming conditions as possible. Instead, they opted to rest him in the final two games to prepare for the Test series despite having slim chances of reaching the WTC final.

Also read: Why are India prioritising Test cricket with the 2027 ODI World Cup approaching?

Shreyas Iyer, who took the captaincy reins for the final two games, also had a series to forget as he managed only 67 runs from four innings with a top score of 30. More than the run tally, how he fared against the short ball bowling should ring alarm bells for himself and the management.

His issues against hard lengths have been well documented, and for a while it seemed he overcame those but this tour has brought them in limelight again. Shreyas was hurried by a Nathan Smith short ball in the final T20I and started the ODI series with another dismissal off a similar length, trying to pull Jacob Duffy.

In the second game, he was cramped up by Kyle Jamieson with a well-directed bouncer as a top-edge flew to the keeper. Blair Tickner made it three in the series, with the stand-in skipper pulling a short length delivery outside off to mid-on in the last game of the series.

Pace bowling depth

The team management rested Jasprit Bumrah from this series for his workload management, which offered them a chance to test their bench strength. They tried Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi, Anshul Kamboj, with Brar delivering a stand-out performance, finishing as the highest wicket-taker with nine scalps at 15.88 apiece.

Assuming everyone is fit, India will have Bumrah and Harshit Rana (for his batting) as the two primary seamers, with Hardik Pandya to support. That leaves one spot in the playing XI for a seamer, for which there could be a healthy competition between Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, and Brar. Arshdeep played all five games and picked up eight wickets at 21.67 while Siraj returned with 2-50 in his only appearance.

It's hard to say what the management is thinking but the spot for the new-ball seamer is likely to come down between Arshdeep and Siraj. There is enough quality in their pace stocks, which should help them cover any late injury mishaps. Prasidh Krishna, who had to miss the New Zealand ODIs due to a hamstring injury, is also in the mix.

Kuldeep Yadav no longer a sure-shot pick?

India's premier wrist spinner featured in only one match in the ODI series, in which he was smashed for 73 runs in eight overs without a wicket. Initially, he had to wait for his opportunity, sitting out in the first three games, and later getting dropped in the final ODI, with the team trusting Axar Patel and Naman Dhir to do the job.

In conditions that aren't quite helpful for spinners, it was expected that Kuldeep would have a limited role but his numbers this year do not give much confidence either. He has taken 10 wickets in eight games at an average of 46.40 and has conceded runs at 6.35 per over. Some of the venues in South Africa do offer assistance for spinners, and India would hope their specialist spinner finds his mojo.

He was also released from the Test squad, with Brar taking his place, as the wrist spinner returns to India with just one appearance on the tour.

Also read: Latest ICC men's ODI team rankings: Updated table after India's 3-1 series win over New Zealand

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