India will face New Zealand in a five-match T20I series starting on January 21 in Nagpur. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the Indian team. This series is important for India as they prepare for the 2026 T20 World Cup. India are the current champions and have not lost a T20I series since winning the 2024 World Cup.

India will aim to continue their winning run. New Zealand come into the series after winning the ODI series 2-1, which makes them a strong opponent. Still, the Black Caps have not beaten India in a T20I series since 2018–19.

Since that time, India have won four T20I series in a row against New Zealand. Their most recent meeting ended with India winning the series 2-1 in January–February 2023. In this article, we take a look at five active Indian players who last played the home T20I series against New Zealand in 2023:

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1. Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill was the highest run-scorer when India last played a home T20I series against New Zealand in 2023. He scored 144 runs in three innings at a strong strike rate of 184.61. He also scored one century.

Gill was not selected for the upcoming T20I series because of poor form. Last year, he scored 291 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 137.26 and did not score a half-century.

Ishan Kishan was picked in the squad instead of Gill. Axar Patel was named vice-captain for the T20I series against New Zealand and for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Overall, Gill has scored 869 runs in 36 T20I matches at a strike rate of 138.9, with one century and three half-centuries.

2. Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal played only one match in the three-match T20I series against New Zealand in 2023. He took one wicket and gave away just four runs in two overs.

The 35-year-old was part of the 2024 T20 World Cup squad but did not play any match. His last T20I game for India was against West Indies in August 2023.

In IPL 2025, Chahal took 16 wickets in 13 matches for Punjab Kings but had an economy rate of 9.55. In T20Is, he has taken 96 wickets in 80 matches at an economy rate of 8.19.

3. Deepak Hooda

Deepak Hooda played in India’s last home T20I series against New Zealand. He failed to perform well and scored only 12 runs in two innings at a strike rate of 100.

That series was his last for India. In total, Hooda played 21 T20I matches and scored 368 runs at a strike rate of 147.20. He also scored one century.

In IPL 2025, Hooda had a poor season. He scored just 31 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 75.6. Chennai Super Kings released him before IPL 2026, and he was not sold in the auction.

4. Rahul Tripathi

Rahul Tripathi played all three T20I matches against New Zealand in 2023. He scored 57 runs at a strike rate of 123.91. His best score was 44 runs off 22 balls.

Overall, Tripathi played five T20I matches for India and scored 97 runs at a strike rate of 144.77. His other two matches were against Sri Lanka.

Tripathi also struggled in IPL 2025. He scored 55 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 96.49 while playing for Chennai Super Kings.

5. Umran Malik

Umran Malik was seen as a big talent in Indian cricket. He played eight T20I matches for India and took 11 wickets, but his economy rate was high at 10.48.

Against New Zealand in 2023, he took two wickets in two matches and bowled at an economy rate of 7.89. That series was his last T20I series for India.

The 26-year-old has struggled in recent seasons. In IPL 2023, he took only five wickets in eight matches for SunRisers Hyderabad. Since 2024, injuries have slowed his career.

He last played for Jammu & Kashmir in the 2025 Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, where he took six wickets in five matches.