India will play two Tests in New Zealand in November 2026 as part of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle. The first begins on 19 November at the Basin Reserve in Wellington and runs to 23 November, and the second is from 27 November to 1 December at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The squad of 16 is led by Shubman Gill, with KL Rahul as vice-captain, and includes Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, and the returning fast bowlers Akash Deep and Anshul Kamboj. The Tests are part of a long tour that also includes limited-overs matches, and they come two years after India's heaviest home defeat.
The argument that India can win the series begins with the balance of the squad. It has a strong pace group in Bumrah, Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Kamboj, which suits the seaming conditions that New Zealand grounds usually offer, and it has two wicketkeepers in Pant and Dhruv Jurel, as well as spin options in Jadeja, Kuldeep and Washington Sundar. The 2024 result also looks worse than the cricket was: New Zealand won the Pune Test by 113 runs and the Mumbai Test by only 25 runs, with India chasing a small target in the second innings of the latter. India also scored 402 in the second innings in Bengaluru after being bowled out for 46 in the first, which shows that the batting can recover from a collapse.
The argument against is that the scoreline of 3-0 was the first time India had been whitewashed in a home Test series, and it was New Zealand's first Test series win in India, ending a wait of 36 years for a Test victory there. The 46 all out in Bengaluru was the start of an eight-wicket defeat, and New Zealand also became the first team to win three Tests in one series in India. Playing at home, India could not beat a side that had never won a series there, so a visiting team in Wellington and Christchurch, where the home side knows the pitches and the weather, faces a harder task. Selection also raises questions, since two of the fast bowlers in the squad, Akash Deep and Anshul Kamboj, are recalls after time away from the Test side.
The series matters for the World Test Championship, where two Tests can change the final standings, and for the confidence of a team that has been under pressure since the 2024 defeat. For New Zealand, a home series win over India would confirm that their result in India was not a one-off. For Indian fans, it is the first chance in some time to see whether the national side can win away from home against a side that has beaten it recently, and in conditions that are very different from the ones it faced in 2024.
India have the bowlers and the batting depth to compete, but the recent record favours New Zealand. The first Test at the Basin Reserve will show quickly which version of the 2024 series is the more accurate guide.
Featured image: An India batter in action during a match (file photo, not from this series).