New Delhi, 17 October 2026: To complete the mission of winning the final race of the World Test Championship and the Test series on foreign soil, Indian Test team captain Shubhman Gilley has taken a unique decision, which is probably seen for the first time in the history of Indian cricket. Before Ramanar's upcoming important two-match Test series against New Zealand, Gill is taking 4 to 5 personal net bowlers with him abroad for red-ball practice. The biggest feature is that the entire cost of air travel, travel and hotel accommodation for all these bowlers will be borne not by BCCI but by Gill himself from his personal pocket.
The first match of the two-Test series between India and New Zealand is to start from November 19 at the Basin Reserve ground in Wellington. There is still more than a month left for the series to start, but Gill will leave for New Zealand on October 23 or 24 to first adjust to the situation there. Before going to New Zealand, Gill will also be seen playing the second match of Ranji Trophy for Punjab against Chhattisgarh in New Chandigarh from 18 to 21 October.
Due to not being a part of India A's Test series, Gill will reach New Zealand and sharpen his batting technique by conducting long net sessions against his personal bowlers on the local pitches there. During this tour, he will also be seen playing in the one-day series.
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Captain in the first 3 ODIs, then will join in the preparation for the test.
This entire tour of New Zealand includes 5 T20, 5 ODI and 2 Test matches. The team management has made a special strategy to focus completely on Test cricket. Shubhman Gill will lead Team India in the first three matches of the five-match ODI series starting from November 4. After that he will withdraw from the last 2 one-day matches and join the red-ball practice with full strength. In his absence, Shreyas Iyer will captain the Indian team in the last two one-day matches of the series.