India take on New Zealand in the a 5-match T20I series in what is their final assignment before the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The series kicks off at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Wednesday. The hosts were put into bat after New Zealand opted to bowl first after winning the toss. India made a few changes, including the return of Ishan Kishan to the playing XI.
India Playing XI: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand Playing XI: Tim Robinson, Devon Conway(w), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy
New Zealand handed Kristian Clarke a debut. He will part of the pace battery, also including Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy. For India, Shreyas Iyer, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav are missing out. Rinku Singh features as does Arshdeep Singh.
New Zealand are coming into the five-T20 series after winning the ODI series 2-1.
"We were looking to bowl first because we felt there was dew around 8.30 during our practice. But we don't mind putting runs on the board and we have done well batting first. Shreyas, Harshit, Bishnoi and Kuldeep are the ones who are missing out," Suryakumar Yadav said at the toss.
