India's T20I grind: Ireland to New Zealand, Iyer's side hunts answers

India's T20I team has had a draining few months. It has played in Belfast, England, Japan and Bengaluru, and now it is in Christchurch for a five-match series against New Zealand. The first game is on October 22 at Hagley Oval. The tour runs through Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton, with the finale on November 1. It is the first leg of a long trip that also includes five ODIs and two Tests.

The backdrop is uncomfortable for the reigning T20 world champions. Shreyas Iyer took over the T20I captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav in June, and his first assignment was a two-match series in Ireland. India lost it 0-2. That was the first time they had ever lost to Ireland in any format, and it ended a run of 17 T20I series or tournaments without defeat.

England was harder still. The hosts won the five-match series 4-0, which also took them to the top of the T20I rankings. The series was decided with a game to spare, when England chased 159 in just 13.5 overs in Bristol. That made Iyer the first Indian captain to lose a T20I series in England. India then lost the final game at Southampton by 56 runs while chasing 258. Iyer made 218 runs in that series, second only to Harry Brook's 229.

Home conditions did not bring a clean fix. After the Asian Games in Japan, India hosted West Indies in a five-match series that finished 2-2. The Bengaluru decider was washed out. India had made 118 for 5 in 7.4 overs in a game cut to nine overs a side, and rain stopped West Indies from starting their chase. India's home record in bilateral T20I series is still intact, with 20 straight series without defeat. But West Indies were one result away from a first bilateral series win in India since 2002, and that is the sort of margin that has kept the questions alive.

There was one clear positive. Iyer hit his maiden T20I hundred, an unbeaten century against West Indies in Lucknow on October 6. The squad for this tour was named that same day.

The selectors have changed little, but one move stands out. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back at 36, after an absence of 1,437 days from India colours. He brings swing and control to a seam group that has struggled on seaming pitches in Ireland and England. Varun Chakravarthy returns from injury, and Ravi Bishnoi makes way. Jasprit Bumrah is not in the squad for the white-ball leg of the tour.

The batting group remains young and aggressive. Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma, who is vice-captain, form the core. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who is 15, is also in the squad. Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel and Naman Dhir add all-round depth and finishing power. Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav lead the pace options, and Kuldeep Yadav is the other specialist spinner alongside Varun.

New Zealand have picked a pace-heavy 16 under Mitchell Santner. The seven quicks include Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy, and Adam Milne returns after more than a year away. Rachin Ravindra is out with a dislocated right shoulder, which may push Devon Conway into the top three with Finn Allen and Tim Seifert. Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell add more power in the middle order.

The schedule is a problem in its own right. India land after a long journey, train for a day and play the next. They went through the same thing in Ireland. New Zealand grounds have also been tough on batters, with no 200 scored in the last eight T20Is there. India have won their last two bilateral T20I series in the country, which gives them some history to lean on.

For India, this series is about more than the result. The team has played only one T20I series win in this new cycle, and the batting order, the pace attack and the captain's judgement are all under scrutiny. A strong showing in these conditions would calm the noise. Another series loss would add to the criticism of the new leadership and raise real doubts about the team's balance.