After a humiliating 1-2 defeat in the ODI series – the first for New Zealand in India since 1988, the action now shifts to the final T20 series before Team India and New Zealand, both of whom move to the 2026 T20 World Cup. India and New Zealand will meet in a long five-match T20 series starting on January 21. It will be another epic series but unlike the ODI series, India will be playing against a stronger New Zealand in T20Is.
However, the Indian team is also quite strong. Unlike the ODIs and Tests, the GG era T20 team is usually a strong outfit. It’s running in autopilot mode, with almost the same team that was playing before GG arrived. With Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel returning, the Indian T20 team is currently one of the strongest in the world. So unlike the ODIs, New Zealand will have to do a lot more to beat this Indian team, which is currently the best in the world.
Historically, Team India and New Zealand have faced each other 25 times in T20Is. The record seems almost comparable: India wins twelve times and New Zealand wins ten times. Given this healthy competition, expect the five-match T20 series to be competitive as well. Since this is the last series before the 2026 T20 World Cup, let’s take a look at India vs New Zealand 2026, the first T20, the best predicted 11 matches for both teams.
Key MAttach details
Tour details: Tour of India through New Zealand 2026
Competition details: India vs New Zealand 2026 1st T20I
Where: Nagpur
When: January 21, 7pm IST
India vs New Zealand 2026 Official T20 squad for the Indian team
Batters
- Abhishek Sharma
- Rinku Singh
- Suryakumar Yadav (c)
- Shreyas Iyer (1st three T20Is)
- Tilak Varma (4th and 5th T20I)
World Cups
- Ishan Kishan
- Sanju Samson
All-rounders
- Axar Patel
- Hardik Pandya
- Shivam Dubey
Bowlers
- Arshdeep Singh
- Harshit Rana
- jasprit bumrah
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Ravi Bishnoi
- Varun Chakraborty
The loss of Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar drastically changes the team combination for the T20 series. Tilak Varma was one of the key pillars in the T20I line-up for India. However, his loss means that Team India will now have to reshuffle their batting order a bit and look for a team combination that will bring good balance to their strongest playing 11. But without Tilak and Washington, what is the strongest playing 11 that Team India can field for the T20 series? Let’s see it in detail by playing 11 analysis.
Even without Tilak, one thing will not change in the team: the top order. Expect India to continue with the strong opening combination of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, with Suryakumar Yadav at number 3. While Sanju and Abhishek are currently in top form, the same cannot be said about Suryakumar Yadav. SKY needs to get back into shape, and it’s now or never up to SKY to redeem himself. With his batting position set at 3, expect SKY to make some progress in the batting department. It’s a strong batting order, and if SKY finds its form it will be among the best in the world
Batting depth or bowling depth
Now, the middle order is the area where we will see solid changes in the playing 11. With Tilak Varma out, India can opt for Shreyas Iyer for the number 4 position. Shreyas has a lot of experience in the T20 format and he can be an ideal replacement for Tilak Varma. With Iyer at 4, you can expect India to play Hardik, Dube and Axar at 5, 6 and 7 respectively. This makes the middle order of the Indian team quite strong at the moment. But what about the batting depth that the Indian team will look at?
Now India can strategize its number 8 in two ways. Either they can have a bowling all-rounder like Harshit Rana filling that role, or they can have a pure finisher like Rinku Singh, and ask Hardik and Axar to bowl almost their full quota of 4 overs. Between the two, India will likely pick the latter as five bowlers + Shivam Dube as the sixth bowler is more than enough for the team. Having someone like Rinku Singh only improves the team’s batting department significantly.
Coming to the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy should lead the pace and spin department for the team with Hardik and Axar being the other two bowlers. For the fifth bowler, India will have to choose one between Arshdeep and Kuldeep depending on the pitch they are playing on. With the match being played in Nagpur, expect India to play Kuldeep Yadav before Arshdeep Singh for the first T20I.
India vs New Zealand 1st T20I Best Player 11 for Indian Team
- Abhishek Sharma
- Sanju Samson (wk)
- Suryakumar Yadav (c)
- Shreyas Iyer
- Hardik Pandya
- Shivam Dubey
- Rinku Singh
- Axar Patel
- jasprit bumrah
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Varun Chakraborty
India vs New Zealand 2026 Official T20 Squad and Player List for NZ
Batters
- Mark Kapman
- Tim Robinson
Wicketkeepers
All-rounders
- Michael Bracewell
- Bevo Jacobs
- Daryl Mitchell
- James Neesham
- Glenn Phillips
- Rachin Ravindra
- Mitchell Santner (C)
- Zakary Foulkes
Bowlers
- Jacob Duffy
- Matt Henry
- Kyle Jamieson
- Ish Sodhi
If we talk about New Zealand’s No. 11, we should see Devon Conway and Tim Robinson as openers, while Rachin Ravindra plays at No. 3. Mark Champan and Daryl Mitchell should take on the mid-range duties, while Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell should play the role of a finisher. Mitchell Santner should provide the desired batting depth, and Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy and Matt Henry should complete the rest of the bowling line-up.
India vs New Zealand 1st T20 Best playing 11 for NZ team
- Devon Conway (wk)
- Tim Robinson
- Rachin Ravindra
- Mark Kapman
- Daryl Mitchell
- Glenn Phillips
- Michael Bracewell
- Mitchell Santner (C)
- Kyle Jamieson
- Jacob Duffy
- Matt Henry
So that’s about the best predicted matchday 11 for India vs New Zealand 2026 1st T20. It will be another competitive match, with India undoubtedly starting as favourites. All eyes will be on India’s 11th player as without Tilak and Washington, there are bound to be some changes. With Varun, Bumrah and Hardik returning, the Indian team should also return to autopilot mode. However, the fact still remains that India have been a poor ODI and Test side under Gautam Gambhir since taking over.
Thanks for reading! Looking at the squads of both teams, what is your best game as 11 for India vs New Zealand 2026 1st T20? Send your thoughts by email to business@cricalytics.com, or in the comments below.
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