Having stirred a debate after being left out despite his world record double hundred, Ishan Kishan is expected to be back in the playing eleven, albeit in a different batting position, when India face a stern test against New Zealand in the three-match ODI series, beginning Wednesday.
Kishan had to sit out of the Sri Lanka series despite scoring the fastest double hundred in the history of ODIs, against Bangladesh in the preceding series.
Shubman Gill, who was rewarded for his consistency and picked ahead of Ishan to open alongside skipper Rohit Sharma, made the most of the opportunities with scores of 70, 21 and 116 in the Sri Lanka series.
No changes are expected to the opening combination against the Black Caps but KL Rahul's unavailability due to personal reasons opens up a slot for Kishan as he is also expected to keep wickets.