Nagpur: Skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s performance will be closely watched when India starts a five-match T20I series against New Zealand at the New Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Wednesday.
This series is the last chance for both teams to prepare for the T20 World Cup, starting on February 7. Since he became captain in 2024, Suryakumar has led India to an impressive series of results. The team has won eight T20I series in a row and holds a 29-5 record, which includes two super over victories, since claiming the world title in Bridgetown.
However, it has been a challenging time for him personally. The 2025 season was his toughest yet while playing for India, resulting in only 218 runs from 19 matches at a strike rate just above 123, and he didn’t score a single fifty. Having moved down to No. 4 to make room for Tilak Varma, Suryakumar will be eager to bring back his aggressive batting style and strengthen his leadership during this important period.
New Zealand, meanwhile, arrive chasing history of their own. Over the last year and a bit, they have pulled off unprecedented series wins in India in Tests and ODIs. The one thing they still want is to win a T20I series in India, excluding the one match they did win in 2012. But New Zealand has been so close to winning a T20I series twice; both the 2017 and 2023 series were decided in the final match, where India prevailed by a score of 2-1.
This close call adds an extra edge to the five-match series, even without considering the World Cup context. Unlike the preceding ODI matches between these two sides, where each team were missing an important player, both will field their nearly full-strength teams for the T20I matches.
Mitchell Santner has returned to lead New Zealand’s white-ball squad, complemented by Rachin Ravindra, Matt Henry, and Jacob Duffy. India will bring back Jasprit Bumrah, along with the two all-rounders who were missing from the lineup during the ODIs: Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel. With this combination of players, India looks like an even more powerful T20I team.
Axar’s return could be important on a Nagpur surface that often favours spin. New Zealand outspun and out-thought India’s batters in the ODIs, but Axar presents a different challenge. He is tall, quick through the air, stump-seeking, and hard to sweep. He is also a key middle-order hitter against spin.
For New Zealand, Tim Robinson is the batter to watch. He announced himself with a maiden T20I hundred against Australia last year and followed it up with an impressive home series against the West Indies, striking at 160.52 in the powerplay. Although he is not currently in the World Cup squad, Robinson knows a strong performance against India could keep him in the running if last-minute chances come up.
Both teams have lingering selection questions. India captain Suryakumar confirmed that Ishan Kishan will be taking Tilak Varma’s place as he is out with an injury. The skipper will also have to decide between Shivam Dube and Harshit Rana about which allrounder will occupy spot No. 8—whether it will be a batting allrounder or a bowling allrounder may depend on the conditions of the pitch (dry, grippy).
New Zealand probably will not rush to get Michael Bracewell back from a calf injury, but they will likely bring Glenn Phillips back into their eleven after he missed the last T20I series. Glenn Phillips would likely take the place of James Neesham in NZ’s XI.
Not only do the conditions at this venue add an interesting twist, but the history of Nagpur hosting these two teams previously in T20Is (during the 2016 World Cup), when NZ famously used three spinners to bowl India out for 79, adds extra intrigue.
The VCA Stadium continues to provide a good environment for slow bowlers, with spinners having the second-best average (20.82) and fourth-best economy rate (6.7) among Indian venues that have hosted at least five T20Is. A pleasant and dry day with evening temperatures expected to be in the low 20s sets the stage for an exciting encounter, with India coming in with momentum and a position of authority, while New Zealand is seeking that elusive first win against India.
Time: 7:00 PM IST
Venue: Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha
Broadcast and streaming: Star Sports & JioStar
Squads:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana.
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (C), Devon Conway, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tim Robinson, Jimmy Neesham, Ish Sodi, Zak Foulkes, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Kristian Clarke.
(IANS)
