Shreyas Iyer, Mitchell Santner

India, led by Shreyas Iyer, will look to extend their unbeaten run in T20I series in New Zealand as they begin a five-match rubber against the hosts on Thursday. The visitors, despite having limited time to rest, acclimatise and train after their arrival, will rely on their batting strength to take on the home side.India’s most recent T20I series in New Zealand was in 2022. The match in Napier ended in a tie under the Duckworth-Lewis method after rain interrupted play. India went on to win the series, claiming victory in the only match that was not affected by rain.Only four batters in India’s squad have played T20Is in New Zealand before — captain Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube. While Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi bring plenty of attacking options, they will need time to adjust to the pace and seam movement expected in local conditions.For Iyer, the series is an opportunity to prove himself on an overseas tour after his tenure as captain began with consecutive defeats in Ireland and England.Mitchell Santner’s New Zealand side will look to put India under pressure. Iyer arrives after leading India to their second consecutive gold-winning campaign at the Asian Games and a hard-fought home series against the West Indies that ended in a draw.However, if the series follows the pattern of India’s tour of the UK earlier this year, scrutiny of Iyer’s leadership is likely to increase. He is expected to lead India at the T20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in two years.India will be without two key players in all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is injured, and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who will feature only in the ODI and Test legs of the tour. Pandya had led India during their 2022 tour of New Zealand.The return of veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar after nearly four years and the availability of fit-again mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy should strengthen India’s bowling attack. However, questions remain over the all-round contributions of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shivam Dube.New Zealand, meanwhile, have several pace options suited to the conditions, including Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson and Blair Tickner.The two countries are marking 100 years of sporting ties this year, with the five-match T20I series to be followed by five ODIs and two Tests.When and where to watch

India vs New Zealand T20I schedule 2026