How have Indian batsmen performed in New Zealand? Analysing the record of India squad for NZ ODI, T20I and Test series 2026 originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- India will head to New Zealand with most of the batters and all-rounders in their T20I, ODI and Test squads yet to play in that format in the country.
- Virat Kohli leads the ODI squad with 596 runs in New Zealand at an average of 49.66, ahead of Rohit Sharma on 437 runs and Shreyas Iyer on 346.
- Only Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant, who is subject to fitness clearance, have played a Test in New Zealand among the batters and all-rounders in the squad.
India to tour New Zealand in October-November?
India will spend just under six weeks in New Zealand, starting with five T20Is from October 22 and then five ODIs from November 4. The tour ends with two Tests, the first in Wellington on November 19 and the second in Christchurch from November 27.
Shreyas Iyer captains the 16-man T20I squad with Tilak Varma as his vice-captain. Shubman Gill leads the ODI side for the first three matches before Iyer takes over for the last two, and Gill also captains the Test squad with KL Rahul as his deputy.
This piece looks at the batters and all-rounders in each squad and what they have done in New Zealand before. The tables count every international match played in the country, including India's 2015 World Cup games in Hamilton and Auckland. An asterisk marks a not-out score, and any player who has not played that format in New Zealand is marked as Never played.
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How have Indian batsmen performed in New Zealand in T20Is?
India's 16-man T20I squad has ten batters and all-rounders, and only four of them have played a T20I in New Zealand. Iyer, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan have all done so, while Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel and Nitish Kumar Reddy have never played a T20I in the country.
Iyer has the strongest record of the group, as he played in the 2020 series and again in 2022. Kishan also played two matches in 2022, while Samson and Dube were part of the 2020 series. The table below covers all ten batters and all-rounders in the squad.
India T20I squad batting record in New Zealand
| Player | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shreyas Iyer | 7 | 7 | 2 | 166 | 58* | 33.20 | 131.74 | 0 | 1 |
| Tilak Varma | Never played | ||||||||
| Abhishek Sharma | Never played | ||||||||
| Sanju Samson | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 5.00 | 100.00 | 0 | 0 |
| Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Never played | ||||||||
| Ishan Kishan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 36 | 23.00 | 109.52 | 0 | 0 |
| Naman Dhir | Never played | ||||||||
| Axar Patel | Never played | ||||||||
| Shivam Dube | 5 | 5 | 1 | 41 | 13 | 10.25 | 117.14 | 0 | 0 |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | Never played | ||||||||
Iyer's 153 runs in the 2020 series came at an average of 51.00, and his unbeaten 58 is the highest score by anyone in this squad in New Zealand. He added only 13 runs in two games in 2022, which leaves him on 166 runs from seven T20Is at an average of 33.20 and a strike rate of 131.74.
Kishan scored 46 runs in two games in 2022 and Samson made 10 in two matches in 2020, while Dube scored 41 runs in five innings at an average of 10.25. The four players with experience have 263 T20I runs in New Zealand between them, and Iyer has 166 of those.
BCCI/Creimas
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How have Indian batsmen performed in New Zealand in ODIs?
India have named separate ODI squads for the first three matches and the last two. Gill and KL Rahul are only in the first group, while Tilak Varma and Kumar Kushagra are only in the second. Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Iyer, Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Axar Patel are in both.
Five of the twelve batters and all-rounders have played an ODI in New Zealand, and they have 1,707 runs between them. Kishan, Gaikwad, Tilak, Kushagra, Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Axar have never played an ODI in the country, so the experience in this group sits with a few names.
India ODI squad batting record in New Zealand
| Player | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shubman Gill | 5 | 5 | 1 | 124 | 50 | 31.00 | 77.01 | 0 | 1 |
| Rohit Sharma | 14 | 13 | 1 | 437 | 87 | 36.41 | 72.95 | 0 | 4 |
| Virat Kohli | 13 | 13 | 1 | 596 | 123 | 49.66 | 91.41 | 1 | 4 |
| Shreyas Iyer | 6 | 5 | 0 | 346 | 103 | 69.20 | 95.58 | 1 | 3 |
| KL Rahul | 3 | 3 | 1 | 204 | 112 | 102.00 | 110.27 | 1 | 1 |
| Ishan Kishan | Never played | ||||||||
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | Never played | ||||||||
| Tilak Varma | Never played | ||||||||
| Kumar Kushagra | Never played | ||||||||
| Naman Dhir | Never played | ||||||||
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | Never played | ||||||||
| Axar Patel | Never played | ||||||||
Kohli has 596 runs from 13 ODIs in New Zealand at an average of 49.66 and a strike rate of 91.41. His best score is the 123 he made in Napier in 2014, and he is four runs short of 600 ODI runs in the country.
Rohit has 437 runs from 14 ODIs at an average of 36.41, and he needs 63 more to reach 500. His highest score is 87, made in 2019, and he has four half-centuries without a hundred in New Zealand.
Rahul and Iyer both made centuries in the 2020 series, with Rahul scoring 112 at Bay Oval and Iyer hitting 103 at Hamilton. Rahul averages 102.00 from three ODIs, and Iyer has 346 runs from six matches at 69.20. Gill has 124 runs from five ODIs at an average of 31.00.
BCCI/Creimas
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How have Indian batsmen performed in New Zealand in Tests?
India's Test squad has ten batters and all-rounders, and only two of them have played a Test in New Zealand. Ravindra Jadeja played in the 2014 and 2020 series, while Pant played both Tests in 2020 and is in this squad subject to fitness clearance.
The other eight players in the table have never played a Test in the country. Gill, Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar will all play their first Test in New Zealand if they are picked.
India Test squad batting record in New Zealand
| Player | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shubman Gill | Never played | |||||||
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | Never played | |||||||
| KL Rahul | Never played | |||||||
| Devdutt Padikkal | Never played | |||||||
| Sai Sudharsan | Never played | |||||||
| Rishabh Pant | 2 | 4 | 0 | 60 | 25 | 15.00 | 0 | 0 |
| Dhruv Jurel | Never played | |||||||
| Ravindra Jadeja | 3 | 5 | 2 | 107 | 30* | 35.66 | 0 | 0 |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | Never played | |||||||
| Washington Sundar | Never played | |||||||
Jadeja has 107 runs from three Tests at an average of 35.66, and his best score is the unbeaten 30 he made in 2014. Pant made 60 runs in four innings in 2020 at an average of 15.00, with a highest score of 25.
That gives the two players with experience 167 Test runs in New Zealand between them, and neither has a half-century there. It is the least experienced group of the three squads, with no hundred and no fifty from any player in it.
(Getty)
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India's Test batters face the biggest New Zealand challenge
India's biggest batting question in New Zealand is the Test series, because only two of the ten batters and all-rounders in the squad have played a Test there. The white-ball games are a smaller worry, as Kohli, Rohit and Iyer have already scored runs in these conditions.
The team management should use the gap before the first Test on November 19 to give the red-ball batters time in the middle. Gill and Rahul are not in the squad for the last two ODIs, which gives them days to prepare before Wellington, and that time should be planned properly.
Pant's fitness is the other concern. He is in the squad subject to clearance, and India should not wait until the eve of the first Test to decide between him and Dhruv Jurel, because Jurel has never played a Test in New Zealand and would need time to prepare if he is picked.
If Gill and his batters survive the new ball in Wellington, the inexperience will stop being a talking point. If they do not, the series could be decided in the first Test, and India's strong ODI record in New Zealand will count for little.
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