India and New Zealand are set to play five T20Is ahead of the World Cup. Here's how the hosts may line up for the first game of the series.
India squad for New Zealand T20I series
Even with the ongoing ODI series, the focus is slowly shifting towards the shortest format with the T20 World Cup fast approaching. India were forced to make a few tweaks to their squad following injuries to Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar, with Shreyas Iyer (for the first three T20Is) and Ravi Bishnoi replacing them, respectively.
India's squad for New Zealand T20Is: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vc), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravi Bishnoi, Shreyas Iyer (first three T20Is).
How will the top order look?
Abhishek is a shoo-in for one of the opening slots. Now with Shubman Gill out of the T20 fray, it is all but certain that Samson will partner him up top. Tilak took the No.3 spot in two of the four T20Is against South Africa, while playing at four and five as well in the other two games. But with Iyer replacing him, the Punjab Kings captain will likely slot in at one-down.
1st T20I, India vs New Zealand
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Who will man the middle order?
Captain Suryakumar, still trying to find form ahead of the ICC event, is the incumbent No. 4, with a fully fit Pandya coming in next. There is also a possibility of a slight shuffle, with Dube coming in ahead of Pandya, also depending on the left-right combination, with the two pace-bowling all-rounders sharing the fifth and sixth slots.
Rinku, making a comeback to the T20I side for the New Zealand series and the World Cup, could take up the all-important finishing spot at seven. Axar batted at eight in four T20Is in 2025, twice more than anyone else and is thus expected to keep that spot, with the Gautam Gambhir-led team management focusing on batting depth in the format.
Who will partner Jasprit Bumrah in the bowling attack?
Rested for the ODI series, Bumrah picks himself in the XI for the T20I rubber. The team management has shown that they prefer Varun over Kuldeep as the more attacking spin option, and the former is thus certain to play.
Now, depending upon the conditions, Kuldeep and Arshdeep could be fighting for the final spot in the XI. For the opening game of the series, at least, Arshdeep is more likely to be picked after being benched for the first two ODIs against New Zealand. Kuldeep, meanwhile, has played in both the 50-over games.
India's predicted XI for the first T20I against New Zealand: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel (vc), Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy.
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