IND vs NZ / BCCI is making big preparations for the series, matches will be held in these 8 cities

IND vs NZ: January 2026 will bring another exciting chapter for Indian cricket, when Team India will play a 5-match T20 and 3-match ODI series against New Zealand. This white ball series will not only give both the teams a chance to prepare before the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, but will also become a platform to give international recognition to the new venue.

This time the magic of Mumbai and Chennai will not be seen

Among the eight stadiums shortlisted by the BCCI for this series, the most surprising thing is that the big and prestigious venues of cricket – Mumbai's Wankhede, Chennai's MA Chidambaram, Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy, and Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium – have been excluded from this list. In its place, Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has been included.

Shortlisted venues:

Jaipur

Mohali

Indore

Rajkot

Guwahati

Hyderabad

Nagpur

Trivandrum

All these grounds have hosted international matches before, but this time they have been selected in terms of team combination, player performance and preparation for possible conditions before the World Cup.

Format and importance of the series

The series will begin with a three-match ODI series, followed by five T20 matches. This series will be an important part of the preparation for the T20 World Cup 2026, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. In such a situation, this opportunity to practice in home conditions will be very valuable for both the teams.

India's busy schedule

Before this, Team India will play two Test matches against West Indies in October 2025 which will be held in Ahmedabad and New Delhi. After this, there will be Test, ODI and T20 series against South Africa:

Test venue: Kolkata, Guwahati

ODI venue: Ranchi, Raipur, Visakhapatnam

T20 venue: Cuttack, New Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Lucknow

Eye on Virat-Rohit's return

In the ODI series against New Zealand, fans will once again be eyeing legends like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who are expected to perform brilliantly once again in this series. This may also be the last home series of their careers before the World Cup.