Delhi, Before the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, the host Indian cricket team is going to play a very important series. Before this Mahakumbh, Team India will play a 5-match T20 International series against New Zealand at home. This important T20 International series between both the teams is going to start from January 21.

There will be a 5 match T20 International series between India and New Zealand

New Zealand cricket team is coming to tour India. The 3-match ODI series between both the teams will start from January 11 and after its end, the Kiwi team will take on Team India in the T20 series. Before the T20 World Cup starting in February, this T20 series can prove to be very effective for the preparations of both the teams.

Strengths and weaknesses of the Indian team

strength, The Indian cricket team has been performing tremendously in T20 International cricket for some time now. The team seems to have amazing balance and is full of match winners from batting to bowling. The way the champion team of the 2024 T20 World Cup is performing under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav and the manner in which it has been defeating the opposition teams at home. Because of that, the Indian team is considered to have the upper hand in this series too and the special thing is that they are playing in home conditions and this will be a big advantage.

Weakness: Considering the way Team India is playing in T20 International cricket, it would be a big thing to find their weakness. But still the biggest weak link of the team can be called the form of captain Suryakumar Yadav. Surya has been a great batsman in T20 cricket. But ever since he got the responsibility of captaincy, he has been continuously flopping. His failure can be gauged from the fact that he has not scored a half-century in 22 T20I innings.

India’s probable eleven

Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah.

Team India’s full squad

Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dubey, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakraborty, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

Strengths and weaknesses of New Zealand team

strength, For the New Zealand team, which is considered one of the underrated teams of world cricket, the tour of India before the World Cup is important. The New Zealand team can again show its strength in the T20 International series to be held during this period. The best thing for the Kiwi team in the series can be considered their spin bowling attack. This team has two very experienced spin bowlers in the form of Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi, while Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips are there to support them. The team also has good all-rounders, in which two batting pace all-rounders like Daryl Mitchell and James Neesham are spin bowling all-rounders and Bracewell and Phillips are spin batting all-rounders. In such a situation, they seem to have the upper hand in this matter.

weakness, The lack of experience in the batting of the New Zealand team is clearly visible. The team definitely has Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell. But apart from this there are new players like Tim Robinson. There is no such strong batsman in the batting unit, who can make the team touch the finishing line till the end. In this case the Kiwi team may become weak.

New Zealand’s probable eleven

Devon Conway (wk), Tim Robinson, Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi

Full squad of New Zealand team

Mitchell Santner (captain), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (wk), Jacob Duffy, Zac Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Bevan Jacobs, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Ish Sodhi

Full schedule of T20 International series