The India tour of New Zealand 2026–27 is set to be one of the most anticipated bilateral cricket series of the year.Featuring 12 high-octane matches across 40 days, the multi-format tour spans 5 T20Is, 5 ODIs, and 2 Test matches. The series runs from October 22 to December 1, 2026.
Full Series Schedule & Match Venues
1. T20I Series Schedule (5 Matches)
All T20I matches are scheduled for 20:00 local time (12:30 PM IST)
| Match | Date | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st T20I | October 22, 2026 | Hagley Oval, Christchurch | 12:30 PM |
| 2nd T20I | October 24, 2026 | Hagley Oval, Christchurch | 12:30 PM |
| 3rd T20I | October 27, 2026 | Sky Stadium (Hnry Stadium), Wellington | 12:30 PM |
| 4th T20I | October 30, 2026 | Eden Park, Auckland | 12:30 PM |
| 5th T20I | November 1, 2026 | Seddon Park, Hamilton | 12:30 PM |
2. ODI Series Schedule (5 Matches)
All ODI matches are scheduled for 15:00 local time (7:30 AM IST)
| Match | Date | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st ODI | November 4, 2026 | Eden Park, Auckland | 7:30 AM |
| 2nd ODI | November 7, 2026 | Sky Stadium, Wellington | 7:30 AM |
| 3rd ODI | November 10, 2026 | Seddon Park, Hamilton | 7:30 AM |
| 4th ODI | November 13, 2026 | Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui | 7:30 AM |
| 5th ODI | November 15, 2026 | Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui | 7:30 AM |
3. Test Series Schedule (2 Matches)
Test matches are scheduled for 11:00 local time (3:30 AM IST).
| Match | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Test | November 19–23, 2026 | Basin Reserve, Wellington |
| 2nd Test | November 27 – December 1, 2026 | Hagley Oval, Christchurch |
Team Squads & Leadership Setup
🇮🇳 India Squad Details
India enters the tour with a strategic squad distribution across all formats:
- T20I Captain: Shreyas Iyer
- ODI Captains: Shubman Gill (1st, 2nd & 3rd ODIs); Shreyas Iyer (4th & 5th ODIs)
- Test Captain: Shubman Gill
- T20I Squad Highlights: Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav.
2. ODI Squad (1st, 2nd & 3rd ODIs)
- Captain: Shubman Gill
- Vice-Captain: Shreyas Iyer
- Squad: Shubman Gill (C), Shreyas Iyer (VC), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna (subject to fitness), Kuldeep Yadav.
3. ODI Squad (4th & 5th ODIs)
- Captain: Shreyas Iyer
- Vice-Captain: Ishan Kishan
- Squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Ishan Kishan (VC/WK), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav.
4. Test Squad
- Captain: Shubman Gill
- Vice-Captain: KL Rahul
- Squad: Shubman Gill (C), KL Rahul (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant (WK, subject to fitness), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
🇳🇿 New Zealand Squads
1. T20I Squad
- Captain: Mitchell Santner
- Squad: Mitchell Santner (C), Devon Conway, Tim Seifert (WK), Finn Allen, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Josh Clarkson, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner.
2. ODI Squad
- Captain: Mitchell Santner
- Squad: Mitchell Santner (C), Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (WK), Finn Allen, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Josh Clarkson, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner.
3. Test Squad
- Captain: Tom Latham
- Squad: Tom Latham (C), Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Tom Blundell (WK), Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, William O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Kyle Jamieson.
The 5-match ODI series features a split-captaincy setup for India, with Shubman Gill leading the team in the opening three ODIs and Shreyas Iyer taking over captaincy duties alongside vice-captain Ishan Kishan for the final two matches.
Overall Head-to-Head Records Across Formats
India and New Zealand have a rich history of intense and competitive cricket rivalries across all three formats of the game. Below is the comprehensive head-to-head summary:
| Format | Matches Played | India Won | New Zealand Won | Tied / Drawn / NR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test Matches | 62 | 22 | 13 | 27 |
| ODIs | 123 | 63 | ~52 | 8 (Tied/NR) |
| T20Is | ~25+ | India leads | New Zealand | Tied/NR |
- Test Rivalry: India holds a clear upper hand in red-ball cricket historically, though New Zealand has proven exceptionally dangerous in swinging conditions, famously winning the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final.
- ODI Battles: One-day matches between these two sides are fiercely contested, featuring high-scoring thrillers and memorable World Cup encounters.
- T20I Dominance: India traditionally holds the edge in the shortest format, though matches hosted in New Zealand always present a unique challenge due to small grounds and windy venues.
Current ICC Team Rankings
The rivalry is further intensified by their respective standing near the top tier of international cricket:
- Test Rankings:
- New Zealand: 3rd position (106 points)myKhel
- India: 4th position (105 points) (Note: The narrow 1-point margin makes this upcoming Test series crucial for World Test Championship standings and positional swaps).
- T20I Rankings:
- India: 2nd position (267 rating points)Spoda AI | Cricket Predictions & Live Match Insights
- New Zealand: Top tier contender, positioned competitively in the global top 5.
- ODI Rankings: Both squads feature prominently in the top 4, boasting world-class batting and bowling units led by premier names like Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Mitchell Santner.
