Big T20 cricket action starts next week between India vs New Zealand. The five-match series kicks off on January 21, 2026. Both countries treat this as their final practice run before something bigger.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 begins on February 7 for India. That’s barely weeks after this series wraps up! So every match counts double for both team management groups right now.
Suryakumar Yadav leads India while Mitchell Santner captains the Kiwis. Both skippers know their squad selections matter hugely for World Cup planning. Getting combinations right becomes super important at this stage.
Injury Troubles Force Squad Changes
India’s team list took some unexpected hits recently. Tilak Varma got injured and won’t play in the 2026 series. Washington Sundar also picked up an injury that ruled him out completely.
Shreyas Iyer makes his reply after missing action for quite some time. His last T20I came back in December 2023. A spleen injury kept Shreyas away from cricket for months.
The middle-order batter recently played the Vijay Hazare Trophy to prove his fitness. Selectors picked him only for the first three T20 matches though. They’re being careful with his workload management clearly.
Key Players Return to the Squad
Ravi Bishnoi returns after staying away from the team for almost a year. His last T20I happened against England in Mumbai. The leg-spinner has been working hard on his game since then.
Bishnoi bowled brilliantly in domestic cricket tournaments recently. He grabbed 9 wickets in SMAT and VHT T20 matches. His economy rate of 8.72 caught everyone’s attention immediately.
The squad now has fresh faces mixing with experienced campaigners. India needs this blend to defend their T20 World Cup title successfully. The team list shows selectors are thinking about both present and future.
India:
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shreyas Iyer (first three T20Is), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vc), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravi Bishnoi
New Zealand:
Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Ish Sodhi
Where to Watch the India vs New Zealand Series
Star Sports Network will show all five matches live on television. You can also stream games on the JioHotstar app easily. The website version works just as well for online viewing.
Suryakumar Yadav hasn’t scored big runs lately to be honest. He’ll want to find form before leading India in the 2026 World Cup. The India vs New Zealand T20 squad list gives him five chances to hit top gear!
