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Bhuvneshwar Kumar returns as India name squad for New Zealand T20Is

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Source: Getty Images)

Mr Cricket UAE Staff

Mr Cricket UAE Staff

Published - 06 Oct 2026, 07:40 PM Read time - 10 mins

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has returned to India's T20I setup for the upcoming tour of New Zealand. The right-arm speedster's last T20I appearance also came in New Zealand on November 22, 2022.

Bhuvneshwar's return appeared almost inevitable after he finished as Royal Challengers Bengaluru's second-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2026. The veteran seamer picked up 28 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 17.89 and an economy rate of 7.95, including a four-wicket haul. It marked a significant improvement on his IPL 2025 campaign, when he claimed 17 wickets in 14 matches at an economy rate of 9.28.

India have also welcomed Varun Chakravarthy back into the T20I setup after the mystery spinner recovered from the side strain that ruled him out of the T20I series against Afghanistan and subsequently the Suzuki Cup in Japan and the Asian Games.

Meanwhile, the selectors have omitted Ravi Bishnoi from the squad. The leg-spinner endured a wicketless campaign during India's stint in Japan and looked well below his usual standards.

The selection committee has also named an India A squad for the three multi-day matches against New Zealand A. Several members of India's recent Test tour of Sri Lanka have been included in the squad, with the series expected to serve as valuable preparation ahead of India's two-match Test series against New Zealand.

India Tour of New Zealand 2026 – T20I Series

No. Day Date Match Venue
1 Thu 22-Oct-26 1st T20I Christchurch
2 Sat 24-Oct-26 2nd T20I Christchurch
3 Tue 27-Oct-26 3rd T20I Wellington
4 Fri 30-Oct-26 4th T20I Auckland
5 Sun 01-Nov-26 5th T20I Hamilton

India A Tour of New Zealand 2026 – Multi-Day Series

No. From To Match Venue
1 24-Oct-26 27-Oct-26 1st Multi-Day Lincoln
2 31-Oct-26 03-Nov-26 2nd Multi-Day Christchurch
3 07-Nov-26 10-Nov-26 3rd Multi-Day Lincoln

India squad for T20Is vs New Zealand:

India’s T20I Squad: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson [WK], Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav

India A squad:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Rishabh Pant* (WK), Dhruv Jurel (C, WK), Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudarsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar.