Christchurch: Days after a rain-hit draw against the West Indies at home led to the series ending in a 2-2 draw, a jetlagged India will take on a strong New Zealand in the first of five T20Is here at the Hagley Oval on Thursday.
The schedule has given India little breathing space. Their Asian Games gold medal-winning campaign in Japan ended on October 3, before the home series against the West Indies began three days later in Lucknow, and the decider was washed out in Bengaluru on October 17.
The side has managed just one training session in Christchurch, and the situation will feel uncomfortably familiar to Iyer. In his first assignment as captain, India landed in Ireland without Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya and lost 0-2, their first defeat to the hosts in any format. England then beat them as well and exposed their shortcomings on pitches with some spice.
Bumrah and Hardik are missing again. Bumrah has been rested with the Test series in mind, while Hardik has not played international cricket since the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad in March, when India racked up 255 on their way to retaining the title at home. The hosts, however, have reason to feel confident. They won their most recent Test and ODI series in India and will have most of their first-choice players available for the first time since that final in Ahmedabad. Mark Chapman and Rachin Ravindra are out injured, which is likely to open up a top-three spot for Devon Conway alongside Finn Allen and Tim Seifert.
Allen will be playing a T20 at home for the first time since March 2025. The explosive opener averages 35.68 at a strike rate of 184.21 in New Zealand. The hosts are also well stocked with pace bowling options via Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson and Blair Tickner.
India's most pressing problem is the make-up of their XI. Their spin-bowling all-rounders may not be as effective away from Asia, and India could leave out Naman Dhir, who impressed against the West Indies, to fit in both Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shivam Dube.
Recalled pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is expected to play, while a fit-again Varun Chakaravarthy could miss out if the team management opts for a third seamer in Prince Yadav.
Conditions could also take some getting used to for the Iyer-led Indian team. Days have been pleasant with bright sunshine, but it is expected to turn chilly by the 8pm start time, and fresh early-season pitches could offer something to the seamers. Dew may also tempt captains to opt to chase.
History, though, favours India a little bit. They have won their last two bilateral T20I series in New Zealand and 16 of their 20 completed matches against the Black Caps since January 2020. Ishan Kishan needs seven runs to go past Suryakumar Yadav's 1,164 for the most T20I runs by an Indian in a calendar year, and it remains to be seen if this happens in front of a sell-out crowd on Thursday. Squads
India: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), Devon Conway (wk), Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Bevon Jacobs, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Josh Clarkson, Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, and Blair Tickner.
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