England have named their playing XI for the first T20I against New Zealand, which will be played in Christchurch on Saturday, October 18. The team was announced two days before the match. Harry Brook will return as captain after missing the Ireland tour. Most of the squad is the same as the one that played against South Africa in Manchester last month, with just a few changes.

Jordan Cox, who scored his first T20I fifty against Ireland, keeps his place at No. 7. Brydon Carse comes into the side in place of Jofra Archer. Cox replaces Will Jacks, who is being rested as England manage his workload ahead of the Ashes. Both Cox and Sam Curran impressed during *The Hundred* for the Oval Invincibles, which helped them earn their spots in the team. Cox, who was named Player of the Tournament and hit a quick 35-ball 55 against Ireland, will continue as a middle-order batter.

Back in action on Saturday ⏳

Our XI for the first IT20 against @BLACKCAPS 💪 pic.twitter.com/pAqOKorsOV

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 16, 2025

Curran will play a flexible role in the batting order alongside Tom Banton. Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson will handle the spin duties, with Jacob Bethell as an extra option. The pace attack will be led by Curran, Carse, and Luke Wood.

England will play three T20Is against New Zealand the first two in Christchurch on October 18 and 20, followed by the final game in Auckland on October 23. The two sides will then meet again for a three-match ODI series on October 26, 29, and November 1.

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New Zealand put up a strong total of 180 runs in the final of the T20I Tri-series in Harare, with Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra playing key innings. Even though South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi bowled very well and bowled tightly, the Kiwis still found a way to score big.

Conway and Rachin Lead the Way as New Zealand Score 180 Despite Ngidi’s Tight Bowling

After being asked to bat first, New Zealand got a great start. Tim Seifert and Devon Conway looked in good touch and added 75 runs for the first wicket. Seifert scored 30 before getting out, but Conway continued to bat nicely and made 47 runs before he was dismissed.

MATT HENRY, THE HERO OF NEW ZEALAND IN TRI-SERIES FINAL..!!!

- He defended 7 runs in the final over. 0,W,2,1,W,0 against South African finishers. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/neMHm3EfFu

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 26, 2025

Rachin Ravindra joined Conway and played a stylish knock. He also scored 47, hitting two sixes and four boundaries. Even though South Africa tried to pull things back with Ngidi’s smart bowling, New Zealand’s lower order added useful runs towards the end.

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Thanks to Conway and Rachin’s solid efforts, along with a few handy hits down the order, New Zealand finished their 20 overs with 180 on the board. Ngidi was the best bowler for South Africa, giving away very few runs and keeping the batters under pressure.

Team India will start the year 2026 with a bang. The Indian team is set to host New Zealand at home. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are also expected to be part of this series. As per reports, the series will include three ODIs and five T20 International matches. However, the BCCI has not officially announced the schedule yet.

New Zealand last toured India in 2024, where the Kiwi team performed brilliantly and defeated Team India 3-0 in the Test series for the first time.This series will be a great chance for both teams to prepare for the ICC T20 World Cup, which will be held in India next year.

The Blackcaps will tour India in early 2026. According to a report by the Times of India, the Kiwi team will play three ODIs and five T20 Internationals against Team India in January. It is expected that the series will start on January 11 and the last match will be played on January 30.

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New Zealand performed very well during their last tour of India and defeated Team India 3-0 in the Test series. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will also be seen playing in the three-match ODI series. Let us tell you that Kohli and Rohit have retired from the T20 and Test formats and will now play only in ODIs.

The New Zealand team last visited India in 2024 and had a strong performance. The Kiwi team made history by winning the Test series 3-0. They also ended India’s hopes of reaching the WTC final. This time, Team India will be looking to take revenge for that defeat.

🚨 KIWIS TOUR TO INDIA IN 2026. 🚨

- New Zealand likely to play White Ball series Vs India from 11th to 30th January with 3 ODIs and 5 T20is. (Gaurav Gupta). pic.twitter.com/L3QtoRgueC

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 12, 2025

The five T20Is in this series will help New Zealand get used to Indian conditions before the T20 World Cup. At the same time, the three ODIs will give both teams a chance to test new players and prepare for the 2027 ODI World Cup. The tour will begin on January 11 and end on January 30, giving both sides enough time to prepare for next year’s big ICC event.

Interestingly, India and New Zealand last faced each other in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai earlier this year. The Men in Blue defeated the Black Caps by six wickets to win the trophy at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on March 9.

New Zealand's another easy win against Pakistan in the second T20I of the five-match series on Tuesday, beating them by six wickets in a rain-shortened game. Pakistan scored 135/9 in 15 overs, but New Zealand chased it down without trouble. Just like in the first match, Pakistan's bowlers couldn’t handle the pressure, and even their top pacer, Shaheen Afridi, was conceded 26 runs in an over by New Zealand's batters.

Shaheen Afridi had tough times against New Zealand, giving away 31 runs in his three overs, with 26 coming in just one over. New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert went after him, smashing four sixes, with a 119-meter six hit at the University Oval in Dunedin.

TIM SEIFERT SMASHING 4 SIXES IN AN OVER AGAINST SHAHEEN AFRIDI. 🥶pic.twitter.com/Q4jcTTW9Ar

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 18, 2025

Pakistan gave a better fight in the second T20I compared to the first match. Captain Salman Agha admitted the improvement during the post-match presentation. With the series now at 0-2, Pakistan can’t afford another loss. The skipper has urged the top order to step up in the powerplay if they want to bounce back in the next match in the series.

Shaheen Afridi keeps improving his position inside Dinda Academy- pic.twitter.com/Y63EnBbemz

— Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) March 18, 2025

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“It was freezing out there. But this game was much better than the last one. We batted well, our fielding was great, and our bowling was decent in parts. We need to adjust to the bounce better. After the powerplay, we bowled well, and Haris was impressive. But we have to do better in the powerplay, both in batting and bowling,” he said.

Michael Bracewell will lead New Zealand in their five-match T20I series against Pakistan. He also captained the team during their tour of Pakistan last year, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Bracewell is stepping in as captain since Mitchell Santner, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, and Rachin Ravindra are all in India for the IPL.

Michael Bracewell will take over as captain for the Pakistan T20Is while Mitchell Santner is unavailable.

He played a big role in the Champions Trophy, where New Zealand finished as runners-up. In the final against India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, he scored a crucial half-century and took four wickets against Bangladesh. To manage the workload of fast bowlers, Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke will only play the first three matches. Matt Henry, who missed the final against India, will return for the last two games.  

“It’s a huge honor to captain my country. I really enjoyed leading the team in Pakistan last year, and it’s great to have many of the same players in this squad,” Bracewell said in a statement from New Zealand Cricket.  

New Zealand squad for Pakistan T20I series

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Ben Sears is back after recovering from a hamstring injury, while leg-spinner Ish Sodhi returns after missing the Sri Lanka series. Kane Williamson has decided to sit out and wasn’t considered for selection. Bevon Jacobs, who was in the squad for the recent T20I series against Sri Lanka, couldn’t play as he was busy with the IPL. The T20I series between Pakistan and New Zealand begins on Sunday, March 16, at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

New Zealand is working on a spin to beat India. They believe India might take advantage of their plan when they meet in the ICC Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday. A net bowler has even shared some details about their plans. India started using four spinners from their third group-stage match, which was against New Zealand. In that game, New Zealand struggled against spin, scoring only 205 while chasing India’s 249, and eventually, they were short under pressure.

They are ready for the challenge, New Zealand's batters are putting in extra work to improve against spin, as net bowler Shashwat Tiwari told ANI. He shared that the New Zealand players are aware of how dangerous India’s spinners can be, especially since they played a big role in India's wins over New Zealand in the group stage and Australia in the semi-finals. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was particularly impressive in both matches, taking seven wickets in those two games, including a five-wicket haul (5 for 42) against New Zealand in the Group-stage match.  

"They are practicing against left-arm spinners,", "I wouldn’t say they are struggling, but India has world-class spinners, and it won’t be easy for them to handle," Tiwari told ANI.

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India has a strong spin attack with experienced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, along with Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav as their left-arm spinners. Varun Chakravarthy and Washington Sundar add more depth to the spin department.  

Net bowler Shashwat Tiwari said that, "I was lucky to get a chance to bowl in the nets today. At one point, one of their batters (name not mentioned) asked me to bowl from 18 yards instead of the usual 22 to prepare for Ravindra Jadeja’s pace. He expected the ball to come that fast. We bowled from that distance, and it went well. But when he found the ball was coming too quickly, he asked me to switch back to 22 yards."  

India won all Group A matches and they topped the table, winning all three matches, and then defeated Australia by four wickets in the semifinal. Meanwhile, New Zealand reached the final aftera win over South Africa.

India will play against New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium, aiming to keep their good form and their winning streak alive after securing their place in the semifinals. With two wins from two matches in the Champions Trophy 2025. In their last game, Virat Kohli’s brilliant century makes India a comfortable win over Pakistan while chasing 242.

India vs New Zealand Predicted Playing XI, Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma misses out, India likely to change the team.

In CT 2025, India is in a good position, they have some injury concerns before the big match. Captain Rohit Sharma, who had some discomfort against Pakistan, is still uncertain. If he isn’t fully fit, India might rest him, with KL Rahul starting the innings and Rishabh Pant joining the playing XI against Newzland. Mohammed Shami is also a concern after looking uncomfortable in the last match against Pakistan. Since he has had injury issues before and Jasprit Bumrah is already missing, India might not want to take any chances before the Semifinals. Even if Shami is fit, Arshdeep Singh could get a chance as the team looks to manage player workloads before the knockout match.

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🚨 PLAYING XI UPDATE vs NZ 🚨
(Times Now Report)

- No Rohit Sharma and Shami. (If they not Fit)
- KL to open with Gill
- Arshdeep and Pant will be in the XI

📷 ICC via Getty Images pic.twitter.com/lo2QReyijx

— CricketGully (@thecricketgully) February 25, 2025

India’s Probable XI vs New Zealand:

Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana.

If Rohit Sharma doesn’t play, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are likely to open the innings. Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant will play in the middle order, while Hardik Pandya is a skillful all-rounder. The spin attack is expected to remain the same with Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana could handle the pace bowling.

Rachin Ravindra is playing in the Karachi training nets and if Rachin is available Tom Latham not played for New Zealand’s Champions Trophy opener against Pakistan. Wearing his helmet, Ravindra covered up the stitches from an odd injury ten days ago when he missed a ball from Khushdil Shah and got hit on the forehead. The management said that he would be fully fit before the Champions Trophy.

New Zealand Taking It Slow, but Rachin Ravindra Looks Ready

During the practice, Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell bowled some leg spin to improve Ravindra's batting and he can play his free-flowing shots. He stepped back, cleared his front leg, and then hit a beautiful cover drive. If delivery was overpitched, he smashed decisive strokes, clearing the actual boundary in a normal game-sliding without any problem. Nevertheless, he managed to go off the field after the treatment, thus the fans greeted him with applause. There was no concussion besides not losing consciousness and his eyes, nose, or teeth have no damage. Kane Williamson described him as a person who likes to joke, and shortly after that, he said that we would monitor him according to his fitness so he could play in the ICC Champions Trophy.

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Latham said. "He’s recovering well, but we need to be careful. Head injuries need proper checks before making a decision."

New Zealand completed the tri-series. When Ravindra was unfit to play, Devon Conway brilliantly scored 97 and 48 to help New Zealand beat out the tri-series. There were also injured locks, Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears, so the replacements of Nathan Smith and Jacob Duffy did a very good job in the tri-series. Ferguson's replacement, Kyle Jamieson, is entering the squad to keep the team on track, so there should be no problem with the provision of the substitute.

 Latham said. "The pitch we played on against Pakistan was different from the one used against South Africa. We’ll check today’s conditions, but we’re confident in our approach."

In New Zealand’s ODI campaign, Kiwi players are in good form. As for the game which the New Zealand team won, they started with bowling and South Africa Batted first and they scored 304 runs New Zealand successfully chased it with Williamson leading the charge. Their fast bowlers, controlled the game after that in the final Pakistan was inconsistent and they won the Tri-series final.