India cricket team’s squads for the five-match series against New Zealand and the T20 World Cup 2026 is likely to be the same. The series against the Kiwis will take place just before the marquee event which is scheduled to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February. As per reports, the series against South Africa – which will take place before the NZ T20Is – will be the last chance salon for Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav to try out a few more players before finalizing on the squad for the T20 WC.
India squad for NZ T20Is, WC to be same
As per news agency PTI, a source claimed that there won’t be many changes made to the squad unless and until there is an injury. The source cited one of the main reasons as continuity, adding that the 15 players chosen for the New Zealand series won’t be tinkered with due to short turnaround time.
“With only 10 T20Is left before the T20 World Cup, you won’t see many changes happening in the squad proper unless someone is ruled out due to any specific injury. One of the biggest reasons being continuity and the 15 chosen for the series against the Black Caps won’t be tinkered with because of the short turnaround time,” the source told the news agency.
The five-match T20I series against South Africa will take place between December 9-19. This will be followed by another five-match series against New Zealand between January 21-31, which will be the final stop for India before the T20 World Cup 2026. India, who are the defending champions, will be hoping to add another trophy to their cabinet and end a 15-year wait to win an ICC trophy at home, having lost the ODI World Cup final in 2023 in a heartbreaking fashion.
