Jet-lagged India open New Zealand T20I series with little time to adjust

India begin their long tour of New Zealand on Thursday, 22 October, at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The first of five T20Is starts at 12:30 pm IST, which is 8 pm local time. The squad landed in the South Island only on Tuesday, 20 October. That leaves less than three days to get over the flight and get used to new conditions.

The schedule explains the fatigue. Shreyas Iyer's side won the Asian Games gold in Japan on 3 October, beating Pakistan by 19 runs in the final after posting 211 for 6. A home T20I series against the West Indies followed, and Iyer's unbeaten 101 in Lucknow on 6 October was his first T20I hundred. The squad for this tour was announced the same day. Now comes a trip that covers 12 internationals in about six weeks: five T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests.

Iyer has declined to treat the turnaround as a problem. He said he is not even thinking about acclimatisation. In his view the team has played continuously, from Japan to India and now on to New Zealand, and that rhythm has become part of the group's routine. It is a sensible public stance, but the conditions will test it. Seam and bounce usually suit the quicker bowlers in New Zealand, and a side with little time in the middle can struggle early.

Experience of these conditions is thin in the batting. Of the ten batters and all-rounders in the 16-man squad, only four have played a T20I in New Zealand: Iyer, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. Tilak Varma, the vice-captain, has not played there. Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel and Nitish Kumar Reddy have not either. Iyer has the strongest record of that group, with 166 runs in New Zealand, including an unbeaten 58. Sooryavanshi, who is only 15, is the youngest member of the squad.

The selectors have leaned on a senior seamer for the bowling. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back after nearly four years out of the T20I side, and he is expected to share the new ball with Arshdeep Singh. Varun Chakravarthy returns from injury, which gives India a mystery spinner. Ravi Bishnoi misses out. Prince Yadav and Mayank Yadav are the other pace options, and Kuldeep Yadav and Axar add spin.

The probable batting order has Abhishek and Samson opening, then Kishan, Iyer and Tilak. Dube and Nitish Kumar Reddy give depth and seam-bowling options. For Iyer, the series is also a captaincy test. He took over the T20I side from Suryakumar Yadav in June and is still in the early stretch of the job. India are world champions after beating New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final in March. That context matters, because the hosts will be keen to get some payback in front of their own crowds. They are led by Mitchell Santner and have a deep pace group. Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips lead the batting, and Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson and Adam Milne are among the quicks.

After Christchurch, the second T20I is at the same ground on Saturday, 24 October. The series then moves to Wellington on 27 October, Auckland on 30 October and Hamilton on 1 November. The tour does not end there. The one-day series follows, with Shubman Gill expected to lead in the first three matches and Iyer taking over for the last two. Gill also captains the Test squad, with KL Rahul as his deputy, and the Tests are in Wellington and Christchurch.

The early matches will show whether the packed calendar is costing India. If the jet lag shows in the first two games at Hagley Oval, the team will have time to recover before the later T20Is. A strong start would back Iyer's view that this group can handle constant movement.