India's 12-Match Tour of New Zealand Opens 22 October and Ends 1 December

India begins a 12-match tour of New Zealand on 22 October 2026 with five Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Five one-day Internationals (ODIs) follow from 4 November, and the tour closes with two Tests, the second ending on 1 December. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced the schedule and called it the biggest inbound international tour in its history by number of matches.

It is India's first Test series in New Zealand since the 2019-20 season. The schedule runs in three blocks over 41 days, from 22 October to 1 December inclusive. The T20I and ODI blocks have named squads, and the Test squad has not yet been announced.

Five T20Is Open the Tour From 22 October

The first two T20Is are at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, on 22 and 24 October. The series then moves to Wellington on 27 October, Auckland on 30 October and Hamilton on 1 November. Each match starts at 8:00 pm New Zealand time, which is 12:30 pm in India.

The BCCI named the T20I squad on 6 October, with Shreyas Iyer as captain and Tilak Varma as vice-captain. Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are the listed wicketkeepers. Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav complete the list. Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are not named in either ODI group.

The T20 block runs for 11 days, from 22 October to 1 November, and the first ODI is three days after the final T20I. The ODI squad followed ten days after the T20I squad, on 16 October.

The ODI Squad Changes Captain Midway Through the Series

The ODI squad was announced on 16 October and divided into two groups. Shubman Gill captains the first three ODIs, at Eden Park in Auckland on 4 November, Hnry Stadium in Wellington on 7 November and Seddon Park in Hamilton on 10 November.

The first group is Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav. Prasidh Krishna is listed as subject to fitness.

For the last two ODIs at Bay Oval in Tauranga, on 13 and 15 November, Shreyas Iyer takes over as captain and Ishan Kishan is vice-captain. The change of captain comes after the third ODI, in Hamilton. The second group also has 16 players, including Tilak Varma, Auqib Nabi, Yash Thakur and Kumar Kushagra, a wicketkeeper.

The two groups share 12 named players, including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav.

The split lets some players prepare with the red ball for the Tests, which begin on 19 November, four days after the final ODI.

Two Tests Close the Tour in Wellington and Christchurch

The first Test is at Basin Reserve in Wellington from 19 to 23 November. The second is at Hagley Oval in Christchurch from 27 November to 1 December. Each Test starts at 11:00 am New Zealand time, which is 3:30 am in India.

Both Tests run for five days, and the second begins four days after the first ends. The second Test is the last fixture on the tour. The Test squad has not been announced.

Basin Reserve and Hagley Oval are the two Test grounds on this tour. Hagley Oval also hosts the first two T20Is.

Twelve Matches Across Five New Zealand Cities

Christchurch has three of the 12 international matches: the first two T20Is and the second Test, all at Hagley Oval. Wellington also has three, with the third T20I at Hnry Stadium, the second ODI at the same ground and the first Test at Basin Reserve.

Auckland's Eden Park hosts the fourth T20I and the first ODI. Hamilton's Seddon Park hosts the fifth T20I and the third ODI. Tauranga's Bay Oval is used only for the fourth and fifth ODIs.

Eden Park, Seddon Park, Hnry Stadium and Bay Oval each host ODIs, so the ODI block uses four venues. Wellington is the only city with matches in all three blocks of the tour.

The India A fixtures at Lincoln and Christchurch are not included in the 12.

The split lets some players prepare with the red ball for the Tests, which begin on 19 November, four days after the final ODI.

India A Plays Three Multi-Day Matches on the Tour

India A's three multi-day matches are scheduled for 24 to 27 October, 31 October to 3 November and 7 to 10 November. The first and third are at Lincoln, and the second is at Christchurch. The first match starts on 24 October, the same day as the second T20I at Christchurch.

Dhruv Jurel captains India A and is also the wicketkeeper, and Rishabh Pant is listed as subject to fitness. Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar are among the named players.

Yashasvi Jaiswal is not named in either ODI group, although he is in the India A squad. The three matches overlap with the T20I and ODI series, and the last one falls within the ODI series.

What the Schedule Means for Fans in India and for Players

For fans in India, the T20Is start at 12:30 pm, the ODIs at 7:30 am and the Tests at 3:30 am, all Indian time. The blocks are T20Is from 22 October to 1 November, ODIs from 4 to 15 November, and Tests from 19 November to 1 December.

For players, the T20I and ODI squads are separate lists, and the ODI captaincy changes after the first three matches. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan appear in both lists, and Iyer is captain in the T20Is as well as the last two ODIs.

Four days separate the final ODI from the first Test, and four more separate the two Tests. Two players are listed as subject to fitness: Prasidh Krishna in the ODI squad and Rishabh Pant in the India A squad.