India begin New Zealand tour with first T20 in Christchurch on October 22

The T20 International series between India and New Zealand begins on October 22. The two teams will play five T20 matches. The Indian team has reached New Zealand for the tour.

The tour is divided into three parts. The five-match T20 series comes first, followed by five ODIs and, finally, two Tests.

India had earlier played an ODI and T20 series against the West Indies. India won the ODI series 2-1, while the T20 series ended in a 2-2 draw. India will therefore try to start the New Zealand tour with a win. Since the series against the West Indies was drawn, the Indian team will try to take the lead from the very first match.

The first T20 will be played in Christchurch on October 22. It will be an 8 pm start local time and 12.30 pm Indian time. The captains of both teams will be on the field for the toss at 12 noon.

One name will draw special attention in this match. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, known as the "king of swing", is returning to the team after nearly four years. It remains to be seen whether he gets to play in the first match.

The first T20 International between India and New Zealand will be shown on the channels of the Sony Sports Network. Fans can also watch the match on the Sony LIV app, for which a subscription is required.

The series schedule is as follows. The first T20 on October 22, 2026 and the second T20 on October 24, 2026 will be played at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. The third T20 will be played on October 27, 2026 at Sky Stadium, Wellington. The fourth T20 is on October 30, 2026 at Eden Park, Auckland. The fifth and final T20 will be played on November 1, 2026 at Seddon Park, Hamilton.

India's T20I squad includes Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav.