India name T20 squad for New Zealand tour; Bhuvneshwar returns after four years, Bishnoi dropped

India's T20 squad for the tour of New Zealand has been announced. The Indian team will play a five-match T20 series there. The biggest news in the squad is the return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is back in the T20 team after a long gap of four years.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi's name has also come up as captain alongside Shreyas Iyer for the T20 series, while Tilak Varma will be vice-captain. The squad list records Shreyas Iyer as captain. Spinner Ravi Bishnoi has been dropped from the team.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 36, last played in this format on New Zealand soil in November 2022. He has come into the national side after two impressive IPL seasons with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The fast bowler was recently named India captain for the Hong Kong Sixes, but because he is in the T20 squad he will not be able to play in that tournament.

Jasprit Bumrah has again been rested from the T20 series because of workload. India also have to play a five-match ODI series against New Zealand, followed by a two-match Test series. All-rounder Hardik Pandya is not yet fully fit and was therefore not available for selection.

Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi is the only player dropped from the current T20 side. He failed to take a wicket in the last three T20 matches, which is why he was removed. Those matches included the semi-final and final of the 2026 Asian Games. Since returning to the side, Bishnoi's best performance came against Afghanistan, where he took three wickets. In the T20 in Manchester, played in England, he took no wicket and conceded 60 runs. In the three-match T20 International series against Zimbabwe, he took one wicket in each match. This year he has taken 10 wickets in 12 T20 Internationals at an average of 31.10. In the gold medal match against Pakistan, he conceded 44 runs in three overs.

Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has returned to the team in Bishnoi's place. He has recovered from an injury sustained during the T20 International series against Afghanistan. Varun played 16 T20 Internationals in 2026 and took 20 wickets at an average of 24.15. He has struggled with injuries this year. He will be playing a T20 International in New Zealand for the first time. He has so far played five T20 Internationals against New Zealand and taken five wickets at an average of 34. These include the final of the 2026 T20 World Cup, in which he dismissed the in-form Tim Seifert.

India's T20 squad: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.

New Zealand will field a near full-strength side for the five-match series. They have picked a squad with a heavier emphasis on fast bowlers. Rachin Ravindra and Ben Sears will miss the T20 International series because of injury.

New Zealand squad: Mitchell Santner (captain), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert, Nathan Smith.