India T20I and ‘A’ squad for NZ tour: Bhuvneshwar returns- Full list

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whose last appearance for the Indian side came during the Napier clash on November 22, 2022, has marked his return to the side for the upcoming New Zealand trip as the BCCI selection committee has named the 36-year-old under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer.

Meanwhile, the board has also revealed the squad for their India-A side as they will play three multi-day matches against New Zealand A. The ODI and Test squads of the blue brigade will be declared later. They have paid massive attention to the A side as preparation for their two-match Test series against the Kiwis.

Shreyas Iyer captain, Tilak Varma vice-captain, Bhuvneshwar Kumar back in T20Is

Bhuvi has been in a superb form in the previous two seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The pacer has picked up 28 wickets in 2026 at an economy rate of under eight and an average of 17.89 while in 2025, he grabbed 17 wickets in 14 innings at an economy rate of 9.28.

Jasprit Bumrah continues to miss in the T20Is as Naman Dhir has been backed for the series. Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Prince Yadav are the three other pacers of the squad, while Varun Chakravarthy is set to return after regaining his fitness.

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

Dhruv Jurel captains, Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Pant included in India A squad

For the India A squad, who will play the three games from October 27 to November 10 in Lincoln and Christchurch, Dhruv Jurel has been picked as the leader while KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are likely to open the batting. Manav Suthar is their spin-around along with Washington Sundar.

Mukesh Kumar is back in the side after a strong performance in the Irani Cup 2026 along with Mukesh Choudhary and Auqib Nabi. Rishabh Pant’s inclusion is based on the fitness.

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