Five-match T20I series between India and New ZealandThe match, starting on Wednesday, January 21, has been designed as a timely and valuable practice for Suryakumar Yadav’s Men in Blue and Mitchell Santner’s Blackcaps as they fine-tune their preparations ahead of the impending global tournament.
with ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 With less than a month to go, both sides see this contest as the last opportunity to refine combinations, sharpen tactics and iron out old concerns before they step into the spotlight.
India are entering the series with full strength, but not without some enforced adjustments. Injuries have disrupted some of the original plans, with Tilak Verma missing the first three matches and Washington Sundar ruled out of the series entirely. Despite these setbacks, the hosts are expected to field their strongest available XI, ensuring that key figures like fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and influential all-rounder Hardik Pandya get valuable match time. This series also holds personal significance for wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson, who will be keen to make the most of these five matches after a challenging phase, aiming to cement his place at the top of the batting order.
Meanwhile, New Zealand come with a boost of confidence from their recent success in the ODI stage, where the second-string team managed to defeat India. Now the work is different. With many first-choice players around the world returning from franchise commitments, the focus will be on rapid adjustment. It will be important to ensure that their experienced T20 campaigners adapt seamlessly to the setup and perform in sync.
For both teams, the series is less about experimentation and more about accuracy.
IND vs NZ, T20I Series: Schedule
- First T20 match: January 21, Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
- Second T20: 23 January, Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur
- 3rd T20I: January 25, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
- 4th T20I: January 28 at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam
- 5th T20I: January 31, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
*All matches will start at 7:00 PM IST/1:30 PM GMT/7:00 PM local time.
Also read: Shreyas Iyer or Ishan Kishan? Suryakumar Yadav confirmed India’s No. 3 for New Zealand T20Is
squads
India: Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shreyas Iyer (for first 3 T20s), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Rinku Singh, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakraborty, Arshdeep Singh.
New Zealand: Tim Robinson, Devon Conway (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Christian Clarke, Zachary Foulkes.
Broadcast and Live Streaming Details
- India: Star Sports; jiohotstar
- New Zealand: sky sports nz
- USA: willow tv [Sign up here]
- UK: tnt sports
- Australia: fox cricket
- South Africa: supersport
- Middle East and North Africa: YuppTV
