The first group of the Indian men’s cricket team has arrived in New Zealand for the upcoming tour. The team will begin its busy schedule with the first T20 International match on Thursday.

New Zealand Cricket shared pictures of the Indian team members, including head coach Gautam Gambhir, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakravarthy, Naman Dhir, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, fast-bowling coach Morne Morkel and members of the support staff. Their arrival at Christchurch Airport marked the beginning of the tour, during which the two teams will face each other across all three formats until December 1.

India’s tour schedule features five T20Is, five ODIs and two Test matches. The tour will begin with the T20 series, followed by the 50-over format and, finally, the Test series.

The T20I series will run from October 22 to November 1, with matches scheduled to be played in Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton. This will be followed by a five-match ODI series from November 4 to 15. The two teams will then compete in the Test series.

The first Test will be played in Wellington from November 19 to 23, while the second Test is scheduled to take place in Christchurch from November 27 to December 1.

India have several objectives on this tour. The ODI series will be particularly important as part of the preparations for the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, while the Test matches will be crucial to India’s efforts to qualify for the World Test Championship final.

India have assembled a large squad for all three formats, with captaincy responsibilities shared between Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. Gill will lead the team in the first three ODIs and the Test series, while Iyer will captain the T20I side and take charge of the final two ODIs.

Notably, the team selection has also provided opportunities to emerging players. Wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra and fast bowler Yash Thakur have received their maiden ODI call-ups. Both players will be available for the final two matches of the ODI series.

In addition, Akash Deep and Anshul Kamboj have returned to the Test squad.

India’s tour of New Zealand is expected to be both significant and challenging, with the team looking to strengthen its preparations for major international competitions while testing its players across all three formats.