Beginning from January 11, 2026, the two cricket giants, India, and New Zealand, will be going against each other in white-ball matches. The itinerary initially includes three ODIs and then five T20Is, with the last game on January 31.
This series is rather significant as it is presumed that a few senior Indian players will be brought back to the ODI team, while it is the T20 team’s case to imperceptibly shape their skills and prepare for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which is starting on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.
ODI Series in Focus
The One Day International (ODI) version is likely to be the main event with the return of the star players, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma, to the 50-overs format after the South Africa series. The Indian ODI team will land in Vadodara on January 7, a couple of days ahead of their first game there on January 11. The remaining two ODIs are scheduled for Rajkot and Indore.
ODI Squad Announcement: When to Expect It
The BCCI has already made public India’s T20I squad for the New Zealand series, but the ODI team has not been determined yet. As per the insiders, the national selection committee should be having an online meeting in the first week of January to decide on the home ODI series squad.
On the other hand, New Zealand has revealed their ODI and T20I squads for the India tour already.
T20Is as World Cup Preparation
The upcoming five-match T20I series will be a Suryakumar Yadav’s Indian team’s last test, as they have now taken a decision to protect their T20 World Cup title. The matches will be held at various places like Nagpur, Raipur, Guwahati, Visakhapatnam, and Thiruvananthapuram.
New Zealand ODI Squad vs India
Michael Bracewell (the Captain), Adi Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae and Will Young.
India vs New Zealand T20I Squads
India:
Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan
New Zealand:
Mitchell Santner (Capitan), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Ish Sodhi
India vs New Zealand ODI Schedule 2026
- January 11: Vadodara – BCA Stadium, Kotambi (1:30 PM IST)
- January 14: Rajkot – Niranjan Shah Stadium, Khandheri (1:30 PM IST)
- January 18: Indore – Holkar Cricket Stadium (1:30 PM IST)
India vs New Zealand T20I Schedule 2026
- January 21: Nagpur – VCA Stadium (7:00 PM IST)
- January 23: Raipur – Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium (7:00 PM IST)
- January 25: Guwahati – Barsapara Cricket Stadium (7:00 PM IST)
- January 28: Visakhapatnam – ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium (7:00 PM IST)
- January 31: Thiruvananthapuram – Greenfield International Stadium (7:00 PM IST)
Cricket fans are going to have a lot of fun because there are going to be high-intensity series and India along with New Zealand is all set to participate in an eventful international calendar that will finally culminate with the 2026 T20 World Cup.