)
 "Bangladesh T20 World Cup participation Highlights: ICC board votes to replace Bangladesh with another team")
 "Pakistan backs Bangladesh in standoff with ICC over India-hosted T20 World Cup matches: Report")
India vs New Zealand 1st T20 LIVE Score: Days after the embarrassing 1-2 defeat in the ODI series, India once again take on New Zealand, this time in a five-match T20I series with the first game taking place today, 21 January at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. With the T20 World Cup little over two weeks away, this is the final series for both sides going into the tournament, making it a crucial affair.
India will be boosted by the return of their two big stars, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, who both were dearly missed in the ODI series. Top-ranked T20I bowler Varun Chakravarthy will further strengthen India’s bowling. Ishan Kishan will be returning to the Indian side for the first time since the 2023 Cricket World Cup and Rinku Singh is also in line to get a place in the Playing XI thanks to the injury to Washington Sundar .
SKY’s form in focus as IND face NZ
India will be at their full strength barring injuries to Tilak Varma and Sundar, but focus will also be on the form of captain Suryakumar Yadav , who has struggled in international cricket for some time now.
Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi , the two later additions to the squad because of injuries to selected players, are expected to warm the bench.
New Zealand, high on confidence after their first-ever ODI series win in India , are also welcoming a lot of their big names. Mitchell Santner and Matt Henry are back from injuries, while Rachin Ravindra also returns, aiming to improve his T20 record.
Daryl Mitchell will once again hope to become a headache for the Indian bowling unit, as he was in the ODI series. However, he will have to contend with Bumrah and Chakravarthy in the T20Is, making the challenge tougher.
While some Kiwi names like Tim Siefert and Fin Allen are still playing T20 leagues around the world, New Zealand do have a solid side to compete against India.
IND v NZ T20 series squads
India squad: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh
New Zealand squad: Tim Robinson, Devon Conway (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kristian Clarke, Zakary Foulkes