India's young T20 side faces seam, swing and jet lag in New Zealand
India begin a long New Zealand tour on Thursday, October 22, with the first of five T20 Internationals at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The series runs until November 1. It is only the first leg of a tour that also takes in one-day internationals and a two-Test series. The challenge for the visitors is simple to state: they must learn quickly how the ball behaves in a country where seamers have long had an edge.
India arrive with momentum from the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where they won gold for the second time in a row. They have also had very little time to settle. The side landed only a couple of days before the opener after a long journey, so jet lag and a lack of match practice on seaming surfaces are real concerns.
Shreyas Iyer leads the side, with Tilak Varma as his deputy. This is a young group, and the captaincy will again be watched closely. Iyer has spoken of the need to read conditions early instead of assuming anything. He has also said the busy schedule is something the squad has grown used to, and that he is comfortable batting at No. 3, 4 or 5, whichever the team needs.
The batting group is full of attacking talent. It includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Shivam Dube, plus 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The teenager's place in the XI is one of the talking points of the series. New Zealand's quicks have reportedly planned for him, expecting the Hagley Oval surface to test his judgement outside off stump and against late movement.
The bowling has a mix of old and new. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 36, is back after almost four years. His last India appearance was in November 2022, and he has 90 wickets in 87 T20Is. Varun Chakaravarthy returns after an injury kept him out of the Asian Games campaign. Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav are the other pace options. Kuldeep Yadav is the second specialist spinner, and Axar Patel and Nitish Kumar Reddy add all-round cover. Jasprit Bumrah has not been picked for the white-ball leg. He is being kept fresh for the Tests.
New Zealand have a deep pace attack under captain Mitchell Santner. Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner and Adam Milne are all available. Milne returns, along with all-rounder Michael Bracewell, after injuries kept both out of the team's run to the T20 World Cup final earlier this year. Rachin Ravindra is out of the series with a dislocated right shoulder. The hosts also have power in the batting, with Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert and Daryl Mitchell. Santner has said pitches will not all be green seamers across the venues, so both teams will have to adjust.
For India, the series is as much about selection as results. Their depth gives them choices at the top of the order and in the bowling, and the management will want to see how those options cope when the ball seams and bounces. Those lessons could matter later in the tour.
The Test series follows, starting in Wellington on November 19 with a second match in Christchurch. Bumrah returns to the Test squad under captain Shubman Gill. Rishabh Pant is named but must pass a fitness check, and Dhruv Jurel is also in as a wicketkeeper. Kuldeep, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar give the spin options. The tour gives India a chance to improve their position in the World Test Championship table. First, though, the young T20 side has to deal with the new ball at Hagley Oval.