India and New Zealand : Teams are set to play their first T20I match at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium

After conceding ODI series, Indian Team is looking forward to take New Zealand in short format at Vidharbha Cricket Association Stadium from 21st January 2026, Wednesday. Men’s in blue is leaded by Surya Kumar Yadav with Axar Patel on his side, and black caps with Mitchell Santer.

World Cup T20I is set to begin on 7 February, India’s T20i series with New Zealand set to test Indian Squad, serving as a final dress rehearsal for Indian’s World Cup title defence. India under Surya Kumar have been a different beast having won 18 out of 25 games, largely due to Abhishek Sharma’s blazing starts and Varun Chakravarthy’s bamboozling performances in middle overs of opposition innings.

Meanwhile,

New Zealand have won 13 out of their 21 T20Is post the 2024 T20 World Cup.

With Devon Conway, skipper Mitchell Santner, world’s premier T20I seamer Jacob Duffy and the duo of Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips in their ranks, New Zealand are as strong an opposition as one can expect.

Ahead of World Cup, t20i series against New Zealand is going to test Indian squad and leadership, serving as a final dress rehearsal for India’s World Cup title defence in less than three weeks’ time. All eyes were set on Indian Skipper Surya Kumar Yadav’s leadership skills and batting performance. As he is failed to score big despite a solid captaincy record, his recent batting form has raised concerns. In his last 25 T20I matches, he scored only 244 runs, with his last half-century in 2024 against Bangladesh.

For the opening pair Indian Team is likely to go with Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan both the batter are looking in a comfortable and dangerous form for New Zealand and ahead of World Cup. Ishan Kishan who has proven himself, in domestic cricket and earned the spot in Indian Team is likely to get an chance to open for India for the first T20i match. Indian team has another opening pair which – Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.

At number three, Shreyas Iyer can be seen in Indian T20I jersey because of set back of Tilak Varma for first three T20I matches. Surya Kumar is set for number 4. Spectators eyes were set on Indian Skipper Surya Kumar Yadav’s batting performance. As he is failed to score big despite a solid captaincy record, his recent batting form has raised concerns. In his last 25 T20I matches, he scored only 244 runs, with his last half-century in 2024 against Bangladesh.

For the defending champions, the series offers an opportunity to test combinations under pressure and iron out remaining concerns before the global event. Against a disciplined New Zealand side, India are unlikely to get an easy run, making the contest an ideal rehearsal ahead of the World Cup.