The board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced India T20I and India A squads for the upcoming New Zealand tour on October 6th 2026. Veteran fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar is recalled to the Indian T20I side and Dhruv Jurel is selected to captain the India A team as well.
India is scheduled to play a five-match T20I series against New Zealand with the first match in Christchurch on October 22. India A will play three multi-day matches against New Zealand A.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar makes a comeback in T20I.
The biggest talking point from India's T20I selection is the return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The experienced pacer last played a T20I for India in November 2022. His recall adds experience and swing-bowling ability to India's pace attack, particularly important for New Zealand conditions.
Bhuvneshwar joins Arshdeep Singh and Mayank Yadav among India's pace options, and Prince Yadav also makes the 16-member squad. Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav are the spin department.
Shreyas Iyer continues as Captain
Shreyas Iyer has retained the captaincy of T20I and Tilak Varma has been made vice-captain.
The batting group includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan and the returning combination of established and emerging players.
Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir are good options.
Notably, Ravi Bishnoi is missing while Washington Sundar is in the India A team instead of the T20I side.
India T20I Squad
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav
🚨 Announcement 🚨 #TeamIndia's T20I squad and India A squads for New Zealand tour announced 📝 Bhuvneshwar Kumar makes a comeback to the T20I side 🙌 More Details ▶️ https://t.co/oJ52QSH0DO #NZvIND https://t.co/btbXlQ0nQD
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 6, 2026
Dhruv Jurel to lead India A
Dhruv Jurel has been appointed captain of India A with Rishabh Pant included as a wicketkeeper subject to fitness.
The India A squad also includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj and Mukesh Kumar.
The selection gives experienced players competitive red-ball opportunities, and also gives emerging cricketers exposure against New Zealand A.
New Zealand Tour Schedule
The five-match T20I series begins on October 22 in Christchurch. The second T20I will also be played in Christchurch on October 24 and there are matches in Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton.
The India A multi-day series begins on October 24 in Lincoln, followed by games in Christchurch from October 31 and Lincoln from November 7.
The BCCI has said that India's squads for the ODI and Test series will be announced later.
