Christchurch, 20 October (H.S.): The Indian men’s cricket team has arrived in Christchurch ahead of its upcoming multi-format tour of New Zealand, which begins with the first Twenty20 International on October 22. The two sides are scheduled to play five T20 Internationals, five One-Day Internationals and two Test matches through December 1.

New Zealand Cricket shared photographs of the Indian contingent arriving at Christchurch Airport. The first group included head coach Gautam Gambhir, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakravarthy, Naman Dhir and Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Bowling coach Morne Morkel and members of the support staff also travelled with the team.

The tour will open with a five-match T20 International series, scheduled from October 22 to November 1. The matches will be held in Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton. This will be followed by a five-match ODI series from November 4 to 15.

The two-match Test series will begin with the opening fixture in Wellington from November 19 to 23. The second Test is scheduled to take place in Christchurch from November 27 to December 1.

The tour is considered significant for India across all three formats. The ODI series will provide the team with an opportunity to prepare for the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, while the Test matches will be important to India’s efforts to secure a place in the World Test Championship final.

Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer will share the captaincy responsibilities across the three formats. Gill will lead the Test side and the team in the first three ODIs, while Iyer will captain the T20I side and take charge of the final two ODIs.

The tour will also provide opportunities for emerging players. Wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra and fast bowler Yash Thakur have received their maiden India call-ups for the final two ODI matches. Meanwhile, Akash Deep and Anshul Kamboj have returned to the Test squad.

With only a few days remaining before the opening T20I, the Indian team’s arrival in Christchurch marks the beginning of a demanding six-week international assignment against New Zealand.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar