India tour of New Zealand 2026 schedule and squads

India's cricketers head straight from a drawn home T20I series against West Indies to a long tour of New Zealand, starting with five T20 Internationals from 22 October in Christchurch. Five one-day internationals follow from 4 November, and two Tests from 19 November in Wellington.

Shreyas Iyer captains India's 16-member T20I squad, with Tilak Varma as vice-captain, and veteran swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar keeps his place after returning against West Indies, the ICC and Olympics.com reported.

Key points

• T20Is: five matches from 22 October, at Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton.
• ODIs: five matches from 4 November in Auckland to 15 November, with the last two in Tauranga.
• Tests: two matches from 19 November, starting in Wellington.
• India's T20I squad: captain Shreyas Iyer, vice-captain Tilak Varma; Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Varun Chakravarthy included.
• New Zealand's ODI squad: Mitchell Santner captains all five matches; Rachin Ravindra returns from injury.

India tour of New Zealand 2026: the schedule

Match times for India are early: New Zealand is 7.5 hours ahead of India during its daylight saving period, so a 7 PM start in New Zealand is 11:30 AM IST. Check the official schedule for exact start times.

The squads so far

India (T20Is): Shreyas Iyer is captain, with Tilak Varma as his deputy, in a 16-member squad announced on 6 October. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, back in the T20I side for the first time in about four years, and Varun Chakravarthy, back from injury, are included; leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi is not, according to reports. India's ODI and Test squads for the tour haven't been announced yet.

New Zealand (ODIs): Mitchell Santner leads in all five ODIs. Several senior players, including Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra and Matt Henry, play only the first three before preparing for the Tests, CricTracker reported. Finn Allen joins for the last two.

What New Zealand's coach says

New Zealand coach Rob Walter called the ODIs "a huge series for us" and important preparation for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Why it matters: New Zealand has been one of the hardest places for India to win, especially in Tests, and this tour is India's biggest overseas assignment of the season. It also comes a year before the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, so selection for the ODIs will be read as a guide to World Cup plans. For readers in New Zealand, India tours draw big crowds from the country's growing Indian community.

India finished their last home series sharing a trophy with West Indies in the rain. In New Zealand, the weather will be colder and the pitches greener. That will test the batting more than any record-breaking run-fest in Indore or Ranchi.