New Delhi. Many important changes have been made in the selection of the Indian cricket team for the New Zealand tour. Fast bowlers Akash Deep and Anshul Kamboj have returned to the Test team on this tour consisting of five T20 Internationals, five ODIs and two Test matches. Whereas, Jasprit Bumrah has been selected only for the Test series under workload management. Shubman Gill will captain the team in the first three matches of the ODI series, while Shreyas Iyer will take command in the last two matches.
Tilak Verma has returned to the ODI team, while wicketkeeper batsman Kumar Kushagra has got a place in the Indian team for the first time. Experienced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has not been included in the ODI team. However, he has got a place in the Test team. This New Zealand tour of India will be very long in terms of program and matches of all three formats will be played in it.
Akash Deep and Anshul Kamboj return to the test team
Fast bowler Akash Deep has returned to the Test team after recovering from a stress fracture injury in his lower back. He last played Test cricket in 2025 on the England tour, where his performance was impressive.
Anshul Kamboj has also been included in the Test team. He made his Test debut in Manchester during the England tour, but his performance there was not as per expectations. Both bowlers are also part of the India A squad for the three multi-day matches ahead of the Test series against New Zealand A.
The team management hopes that both the fast bowlers can prove useful in New Zealand conditions. At the same time, Gurnoor Brar has not got a place in the Test team.
Rishabh Pant has also been included in the Test squad, but his availability will depend on fitness clearance. He is recovering from a left rib injury.
BCCI's workload management regarding Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah will play only in the Test series on New Zealand tour. The team management and selectors are taking this decision keeping in mind his workload. Early next year, India has to play a five-Test series against Australia at home. In such a situation, Bumrah's fitness and his availability in the longer format is considered important.
Bumrah was ruled out of India's last Test series against Sri Lanka in August due to a knee injury. He then made a comeback in the T20 format and was part of the gold medal-winning Indian team at the Asian Games in Japan this month.
Now Bumrah will soon report to the Center of Excellence (COE). There his focus will be on gradually increasing the workload for the longer format.
Shreyas Iyer will take over the captaincy in the last two ODIs
Shubman Gill will lead the Indian team in the first three matches of the five-match ODI series against New Zealand. After this he will focus on preparing for Test cricket. Shreyas Iyer will be the captain in the last two ODIs. KL Rahul will also focus on preparing for the Test format after the third ODI.
Tilak Verma has returned to the ODI team for the first time since December 2025. Wicketkeeper batsman Kumar Kushagra has been included in the Indian team for the first time. With a mix of young and experienced players in the ODI team, the selectors have selected two teams for different matches.
Indian team for all three formats
Team for first three ODIs
Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dheer, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav.
Team for last two ODIs
Shreyas Iyer (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Verma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper and vice-captain), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dheer, Aaqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav.
Team for test series
Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)*, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj.
*Rishabh Pant's selection is subject to fitness clearance.
When and where will the matches take place?
India's New Zealand tour will start from October 22, 2026 with a five-match T20 series. After this, ODI series will be played from 4th November and Test series from 19th November.
T20 series schedule
match
date
place
first t20
22 October
christchurch
2nd t20
24 October
christchurch
3rd t20
27 October
wellington
4th t20
30 October
auckland
fifth t20
November 1st
hamilton
ODI series schedule
match
date
place
1st ODI
4th November
auckland
2nd ODI
7 November
wellington
3rd ODI
10 November
hamilton
4th ODI
13 November
Mount Maunganui
5th ODI
Nov 15
Mount Maunganui
test series schedule
match
date
place
first test
19 November
wellington
second test
27 November
christchurch
In this tour, the Indian team will have the challenge of showing its strength in all three formats. Bumrah's focus on Test cricket, Akash Deep's return and change of captaincy between the ODI series are the key aspects of this tour. At the same time, players like Tilak Verma and Kumar Kushagra will also have the responsibility of living up to the expectations of the selectors.