India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team Match: India will look to bounce back from their first-ever ODI series loss to New Zealand at home when the two sides meet in the opening match of the five-match T20 International series in Nagpur on Wednesday, January 21, 2026. Under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, the series is seen as an important build-up ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. With only a few matches left before the global event, the focus will be on settling the right team combination. India enter the series with a few injury concerns. The BCCI has named replacements, and players like Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi could feature in some matches. However, the main aim for the team management will be to finalise the playing XI before the World Cup.
Sanju Samson is expected to open the innings alongside Abhishek Sharma. After experimenting with the batting order in recent matches, the team management appears keen to give Samson a longer run at the top. The Kerala batter opened in his last outing against South Africa and scored 37. The No. 3 spot remains a close call between Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan. Both have returned to the T20I squad after a long gap. Iyer has been playing ODIs following his injury recovery, while Kishan has performed well in domestic cricket. With Kishan named in the T20 World Cup squad, he may get the opportunity in the opening match.
Hardik Pandya is set to return after recovering from injury, while Shivam Dube is expected to retain his place. The presence of both all-rounders adds balance to the side, although Pandya’s bowling workload will be monitored closely. In the spin department, Varun Chakravarthy is likely to be preferred over Kuldeep Yadav for the first match. New Zealand batters targeted Kuldeep during the ODI series, which could influence the team’s selection call.
Predicted India Playing XI:
Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy.
