India lead the series 3-1.
India and New Zealand are going head-to-head for five T20Is in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup 2026, starting January 7. Apart from Ravi Bishnoi missing the squad, some big names have missed the India playing XI tonight due to team balance. The names include Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav.
Suryakumar Yadav won the coin toss and elected India to field first. The action for the IND vs NZ 5th T20I will unfold at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram.
Both bowlers played three out of the first four matches of the ongoing five-match IND vs NZ T20I series. Harshit Rana took six wickets in total, while Kuldeep Yadav took one wicket in each game. But coming to the fifth and final T20I of the IND vs NZ series, both are dropped to keep team balance.
Jasprit Bumrah has returned to action with the Men in Blue, meaning either Harshit Rana had to sit out. With Bumrah and Arshdeep, India also has pace options in Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. Thus, India doesn’t need a fifth pace option for the 20-over game.
Harshit’s returns in his last T20I were a bit disappointing. He played one of the games against South Africa in December, taking two wickets but giving away runs at 8.5 RPO.
Coming to the spin department, Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy donned the jersey. Abhishek Sharma can also bowl a couple of overs, while Rinku Singh has also been rolling his arm in the nets. Kuldeep Yadav has been left out to give him valuable rest before the T20 World Cup 2026.
Kuldeep Yadav also featured in one of the SA T20Is, picking two wickets but conceding runs at six RPO.
Overall, India have made multiple tactical decisions keep the T20 World Cup 2026 in mind. One major change was that Shubman Gill was not included in the India squad. Axar Patel will handle the vice-captaincy duties in the absence of the Test and ODI captain.
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Suryakumar Yadav & Co. would look to add 20-30 more runs to the expected total, keeping the dew factor in mind for the second half of the match.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (w), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (w), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Bevon Jacobs, Mitchell Santner (c), Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, and Jacob Duffy
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