Bhuvneshwar Kumar makes comeback as BCCI announces India’s T20I squad for series against New Zealand
There was a big surprise in store when BCCI’s men’s selection Committee announced India and India A squads for the upcoming tour of New Zealand. India will play five T20Is, while India A will play three Multi-Day matches against New Zealand A. The squad for the ODIs and Test series will be announced later. Veteran India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Tuesday returned to the national side nearly four years since his last appearance for the upcoming five-match T20I series, to be played in New Zealand later this month.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the second-highest wicket-taker of the IPL 2026 – 28 wickets in 16 matches. He was the best Indian bowler and was crucial in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) winning the IPL 2026.
The squad announced by the BCCI – first after the exit of former chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and with Pragyan Ojha as interim chair – also has Varun Chakravarthy making a comeback after an injury had ruled him out of the Asian Games.
India will play five T20Is from October 22 to November 1 in New Zealand. The first match of the series is at Christchurch on October 22, followed by second on October 22 at the same venue.
The third T20I, on October 27, will be played at Wellington while the fourth and fifth T20Is will be on October 30 and November 1 at Auckland and Hamilton respectively.