India is considering an early release of Gurnoor Brar due to testing preparations

Indian bowler Gurnoor Brar celebrates the wicket of New Zealand’s Tom Latham during a one-day international cricket match in Auckland, New Zealand. Mount Maunganui: The Indian team management is considering dropping Gurnoor Brar from the ODI squad. TimesofIndia.com has learned that Brar could be dropped after the fourth ODI, with a final decision expected after Friday’s game in Tauranga.With New Zealand having tall bowlers in their squad, the management wants to have Brar in the Test squad in Wellington. The fast bowler is not part of the Indian Test squad but has been asked to stay back.India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has confirmed that the support staff will split after the Hamilton ODI. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule are with the ODI preparations, while Kotak, bowling coach Morne Morkel and fielding coach Subhadeep Ghosh accompany the Test team.Gill, KL Rahul and Anshul Kamboj left Hamilton for Wellington while the remaining players who are part of the India A squad joined the Christchurch group.Ruturaj Gaikwad probably openFor the fourth ODI against New Zealand, India are likely to make two changes with Ruturaj Gaikwad coming in as opener in place of Shubman Gill while Ishan Kishan is expected to retain his place in the middle order.A late shake-up cannot be ruled out, but cues from the nets and group discussions point to Kishan batting in the middle order for the remaining two ODIs.All the batsmen, including Tilak Varma, had extended batting in the nets. Ruturaj looked confident and will want to make the most of the opportunity in the series.