Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India has unveiled plans for an eight-match white-ball tour featuring New Zealand, commencing on January 11, 2026. Both setups expect these fixtures to sharpen their rosters before the T20 World Cup, scheduled for the early months of that year.
Briefly, the itinerary comprises three one-day internationals and five T20 internationals played across eight Indian venues from January 11 to January 31, 2026. Baroda (January 11), Rajkot (January 14), and Indore (January 18) are lined up for the 50-over games; Nagpur (January 21), Raipur (January 23), Guwahati (January 25), Visakhapatnam (January 28), and Thiruvananthapuram (January 31) host the shorter format.
New Zealand will arrive on the heels of a historic 3-0 Test series victory in India in early 2024, a result many pundits are still debating. However, when it comes to limited overs, recent head-to-head numbers tilt heavily toward India, which has taken seven of the last eight T20s and all seven ODIs against the Black Caps.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah describes the tour as a crucial preparation for both teams. Members of the International Cricket Council regard these matches as vital fine-tuning ahead of a global championship set to travel around India and Sri Lanka in February and March 2026.
Several Test matches, two separate limited-overs tours, and a schedule of cross-border T20s fill India’s lively summer of twenty-five. The last leg pairs Red-Ball sides from the Caribbean and from the Republic, so from Adani to the Wankhede, the grounds staff expect a carnival rather than a chore. Furthermore, traditional Hindustani venues such as Jaipur and Mohali won’t see a single ball, a disappointment always softened by the thrill of the match itself getting booked at the last minute.
Comments are closed.