It all comes down to this. Apart from a warm-up match against South Africa, India will have no other encounters that will help them prepare for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which starts in a week. The fifth T20I against New Zealand, to be played on Saturday, January 31 in Thiruvananthapuram, will be their final opportunity.
India experimented heavily in their last game and ended up losing it fairly comprehensively. For the final T20I, they are expected to bring in Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel, who haven’t featured lately due to differing reasons.
The Kiwis, on the other hand, will be happy to have pulled one back. Players like Finn Allen and Lockie Ferguson are all set to return from T20 league commitments and injuries respectively, strengthening their squad ahead of the marquee ICC event.
A cracking encounter is on the cards.
India’s T20I squad for the New Zealand series: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Shreyas Iyer.
New Zealand’s T20I squad for the India series: Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Ish Sodhi, Finn Allen.
IND vs NZ 2026: Suryakumar Yadav and Co. look to win in final outing before T20 World Cup
Could India rest Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya? Maybe even Abhishek Sharma could find himself on the bench, given that he has featured in all four matches thus far. The Men in Blue have been unpredictable with their rotation decisions so far, making these predictions difficult.
However, it can be said that India will still be the favorites. Varun and Axar, who are likely to return, will add depth and spin-bowling pedigree to the lineup. Even without Bumrah, the hosts should be able to trouble New Zealand in the pace department.
While Allen’s inclusion at the top of the order and Ferguson’s addition to the pace attack will certainly help matters, the Black Caps will need much more than that to be adjudged the favorites for this encounter. India will be motivated to enter the T20 World Cup on the back of a win and can be backed to triumph on Saturday.
Prediction: India to win the 5th T20I vs New Zealand.
Edited by Sai Krishna
