IND vs NZ: Predicted India playing XI for the first T20I

After a nail-biting ODI series, the action has now reached to the shortest format of the game. The action starts from January 21, when India will take on New Zealand at Vidarbha Cricket Association, Nagpur, in the first T20I. Both teams have been scheduled to play 5 T20I matches, which is very important for their preparations, as the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 is in mind. 

New Zealand will also have a golden opportunity to win another series victory. They already defeated the Indian team in tests (3-0) and ODIs (2-1) on Indian soil. Ahead of the start of the T20I series, India had already suffered two major setbacks.

Star batter Tilak Varma and all-rounder Washington Sundar are currently suffering from injuries, which means they will have to missed couple of matches of the upcoming cricket series. Tilak Varma will missed first three matches while Sundar has been ruled out for the entire series. Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi have been included for the series in place of them.  

In the first match, Sanju Samson will open with Abhishek Sharma. Samson will also feature behind the stumps as wicket-keeper. After Shubman Gill’s exclusion from the T20I squad, Sanju will be back in the opening slot. In the middle order, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav will feature. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav is currently searching for his form, and they want to be back in form in this series. The year 2025 was very bad for him. In 2025, he played 21 matches, where he scored 218 runs in 19 innings, at an average of 13.62. He was not able to hit a half-century. His best cricket score of the year 2025 was 47*. 

After this, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel and Harshit Rana will feature in the role of all-rounders. The team might be entered with the sole spin bowling option, Varun Chakravarthy. Axar Patel will contribute to him as a second spin option. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh will be the two pacers. If Kuldeep Yadav is included in the starting lineup, one of Harshit Rana or Arshdeep Singh will be rested.

Predicted India playing XI for the first T20I

Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh

Bench: Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav