The T20 World Cup 2026 is just a few weeks away, and before that, India cricket team is set to play a five-match T20I series against New Zealand. India views this series as a preparatory assignment for their World Cup campaign.
However, Team India has suffered two major setbacks. Washington Sundar has been ruled out of both the series and the World Cup, while Tilak Varma is still in recovery mode, and there is no clear update on his availability yet.
Because of this, Shreyas Iyer has been included in the squad, along with Ravi Bishnoi, who doesn’t really fit as a like-for-like replacement for Washington Sundar.
In this article, I will talk about three players on whom Indian fans will have their eyes during this IND vs NZ T20I 2026.
Shreyas Iyer
The wait for Shreyas Iyer’s return to T20 cricket is finally over, but the big question remains: Does he really deserve a place in the T20 World Cup 2026 or not? Let’s find out.
Shreyas Iyer has a T20 career average of 30.67. He has played 51 matches, scoring 1104 runs in 47 innings, and his strike rate of 136.13 is decent as well.
But the real twist comes from his outstanding performance in the 2025 Indian Premier League. Iyer played a pivotal role in taking Punjab Kings to the final after an 11-year wait. With the bat, he smashed 604 runs at an incredible strike rate of 175.07.
Undoubtedly, Shreyas Iyer deserves a place in the World Cup squad. However, if Tilak Varma becomes fully fit, Shreyas Iyer is likely to miss out.
Ravi Bishnoi
Ravi Bishnoi has been included only for the T20I series against New Zealand. But India has already established bowlers like Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Axar Patel. Because of this strong competition, Ravi Bishnoi is likely to spend most of the series on the bench.
Whenever Ravi Bishnoi has been given opportunities for India, he has delivered performances. So far, he has taken 61 wickets in 42 matches, with an economy rate of 7.35, which is not very impressive in modern T20 cricket.
He also failed to make a strong impact in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, picking up just 9 wickets in 7 matches with an economy of 8.40, which is quite poor. Due to this, it appears challenging for Ravi Bishnoi to secure his place in the Indian team.
Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav, the captain, is going through a horrible phase with the bat. After such an excellent batting season for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, SKY’s bat has gone completely silent.
In T20 Internationals, Suryakumar has played 21 matches and, surprisingly, hasn’t scored even a single fifty. He has managed only 218 runs at an average of just 13.62. Questions are not being raised too strongly because under his captaincy, India national cricket team has hardly lost any matches.
However, in the Indian Premier League 2025, Suryakumar Yadav smashed 717 runs, showing his true class. Everyone knows this is just a bad phase for him; he needs only one good innings to get back on track.
That defining knock could come against New Zealand national cricket team, just before the T20 World Cup 2026.
Other players to watch vs NZ
Apart from these three players, the Indian team’s main concern is the opening combination as well. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are set to open once again after Shubman Gill missed out.
Another big expectation will be from Axar Patel. He will need to deliver a performance similar to Yuvraj Singh’s iconic 2007 heroics if India want to create history by winning back-to-back T20 World Cup titles.
