Why is Jasprit Bumrah not enjoying at this time’s NZ vs IND 2026 1st T20I?

Team India will be without ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah as they kick off their all-important New Zealand tour with the opening T20I in Christchurch today (October 22). The 32-year-old has been rested for the five-match T20I and ODI series against New Zealand before the two Tests.

Bumrah has been injury-prone for much of his career and recently dealt with a knee injury in England, which forced him to miss the Test series in Sri Lanka. The champion seamer returned to play in India’s T20I series against Afghanistan and the subsequent Asian Games 2026.

However, Bumrah sat out the most recent three-ODI and five-T20I series against the West Indies. The veteran pacer has historically thrived in T20Is in New Zealand, taking six wickets in five matches at an average of 21.50 and an economy of 6.45.

Yet Bumrah hasn’t played a T20I in New Zealand since the 2020 series, which India won 5-0.

Without him, the Men in Blue will rely on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav to shore up the pace-bowling department in the five T20Is in New Zealand.

Team India will look to continue their dominant T20I run against New Zealand without Jasprit Bumrah

Team India has dominated New Zealand in T20Is, having won five of their six meetings this year. In the most recent matchup, the Men in Blue thumped the Kiwis by 96 runs in the T20 World Cup 2026 final in Ahmedabad.

India have also dominated New Zealand in T20Is in New Zealand, winning six of their last seven matches, with one being a tie.

Yet, Shreyas Iyer’s side has had mixed results in the shortest format since the 2026 T20 World Cup triumph. India suffered embarrassing 0-2 and 0-4 series losses to Ireland and England before crushing Afghanistan at home and winning the Asian Games 2026 in Japan.

However, the Men in Blue struggled for consistency again in the most recent home T20I series against the West Indies, which ended in a 2-2 tie.

Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran