India eye final checks and revisions before title defence at home

By his admission, Suryakumar Yadav continues to hit the ball well in the nets. Outside of it, he has had to dead bat more questions about not taking it beyond lately. The India captain, five games away now from leading the defending champions in a home World Cup, staunchly offers that the substance will come and that the style remains non-negotiable.

He can afford to comedically sidestep some of the inquisition, for India are unarguably the best T20I team in the world at the moment. Since the Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid combine delivered the world title in 2024, India have won 29 of the 36 matches played in this format. They may have created a potential stumbling block for themselves by shuffling the top-order deck and messing with the balance of the side with the re-introduction of Shubman Gill but even that is in the past now. Sanju Samson is reunited with Abhishek Sharma at the top and there's room for Rinku Singh to return as the finisher.

The next 11 days should give India a chance to take a closer look at their clockwork precision for any possible red flags before the big tournament. Who better than New Zealand then, to hold up a mirror to this Indian side. The ambitious travellers from this island country have recently been able to knock the wind out of India's sails in both Tests and ODIs. Their returning captain Mitchell Santner would like nothing better than to go three for three by shaking India up in the shortest format too.

New Zealand have done reasonably well in this World Cup cycle (15 wins and 7 losses in 26 T20Is) but have come up short every time they've faced Australia and England. Tripping up against the best will not quite cut it if New Zealand harbour hopes of breaking the World Cup hegemony of the 'big three' for the first time in 10 years. They too, then, have under two weeks to get all their ducks in a row.

When: India vs New Zealand, 1st T20I, January 21, 07:00 PM IST

Where: Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur

What to expect: A black soil pitch and some joy for bowlers? The venue hasn't seen too many big scores in the 13 T20Is played there so far. India have a 2-2 win-loss record in the four fixtures they've played there, but ignominiously, the lowest T20I total at this venue also belongs to them – 79 against New Zealand in the 2016 T20 World Cup.

"Ishan will play at No.3. He's in our World Cup team and we picked him first… I think he's our best bet at No.3"

Suryakumar Yadav put an early end to any doubts and speculation about who will come in for the injured Tilak Varma in the first three fixtures. Ishan, who is also in the World Cup squad, will get the nod ahead of Shreyas Iyer.

Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel/Kuldeep Yadav, Varun CV, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh

The visitors will welcome back the trio of Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry and Mark Chapman from injuries. All three should walk into the XI. New Zealand could also look to add a second spinner to the mix, which should bring Ish Sodhi in.

Tim Robinson, who isn't in the World Cup squad, will slot in at the top for the start of the India series alongside Devon Conway, while Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are away on BBL assignments. That pair however, is expected to join the squad for the back end of the series, as are Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne.

Probable XI: Tim Robinson, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy

Key Stats:

• Only Varun CV and Richard Ngarava have picked more wickets in the current T20I World Cup cycle than Jacob Duffy's 42.
• Suryakumar Yadav has not scored a T20I half-century since the tour to South Africa in November 2024.
• Hardik Pandya has smashed 142 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 186.84 since returning from the injury suffered during Asia Cup.
• Since the start of 2023, Matt Henry has picked up 176 international wickets (across formats) – the most in the world by any bowler.

Quotes:
"I have been batting really well (in the nets). Talking about the runs, it will definitely come. But at the same time, I can't do things differently. I don't want to change my identity." – India captain Suryakumar Yadav

"It (recent success in India) obviously gives us an edge. We love playing India, and we love playing in India. We have had some recent successes against India in different formats. We are looking forward to the series. The aim, first of all, is obviously to win the series but also have good enough preparation leading into the T20 World Cup 2026." – New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner