The BCCI’s men’s selection committee surprised many by announcing India and India A squads for the upcoming New Zealand tour. India are scheduled to play five T20Is, while India A will feature in three multi-day matches against New Zealand A. The squads for the ODI and Test series will be announced separately.
The biggest talking point from the selection was the return of veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar to India’s T20I squad. The 36-year-old seamer has been recalled nearly four years after his last appearance for India and will now be part of the five-match T20I series in New Zealand.
Bhuvneshwar’s selection comes after an impressive IPL 2026 campaign. He finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, claiming 28 wickets in 16 matches. His performances were particularly important for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who went on to win the IPL 2026 title.
WATCH – Ishan Kishan Takes Unbelievable Catch to Dismiss Matthew Forde in 1st T20I
The latest squad announcement is also the first selection after Ajit Agarkar stepped down as chairman of selectors, with Pragyan Ojha taking charge as interim chairman. Spinner Varun Chakravarthy has also returned to the T20I setup after missing the Asian Games due to injury.
🚨 Announcement 🚨
#TeamIndia’s T20I squad and India A squads for New Zealand tour announced 📝
Bhuvneshwar Kumar makes a comeback to the T20I side 🙌
More Details ▶️ https://t.co/oJ52QSH0DO
#NZvIND https://t.co/btbXlQ0nQD
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 6, 2026
India’s five-match T20I series in New Zealand will begin on October 22 in Christchurch, with the second game also scheduled at the same venue. The third T20I will be played in Wellington on October 27, followed by matches in Auckland on October 30 and Hamilton on November 1.
India will then feature in a five-match ODI series and a two-Test series against New Zealand.
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India T20I Squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.
India A Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Rishabh Pant (WK)*, Dhruv Jurel (C/WK), Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar.
*Subject to fitness.
