New Zealand have confirmed their 16-member squad for a five-match T20I series against India, starting October 22 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch — the two sides' first meeting since this year's T20 World Cup final, which New Zealand lost. Mitchell Santner continues as captain of the squad: Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert and Nathan Smith.
The headline absence is Rachin Ravindra, who dislocated his right shoulder in a freak accident during a promotional shoot in Auckland on September 16. New Zealand Cricket has confirmed he needs around six weeks of rehabilitation, which rules him out of this T20I series entirely; the team has said it will not rush his return given a heavy Test schedule over the next six months, and is instead hopeful he can be fit for the three-match ODI series against India that follows from November 4. Bevon Jacobs has been added to the squad as his direct replacement.
Thirteen players from New Zealand's T20 World Cup runner-up squad return to this group, with two notable names coming back from injury layoffs of their own: spin-bowling all-rounder Michael Bracewell and pace bowler Adam Milne had both missed the World Cup itself, and their recall gives Santner's squad bowling depth and batting flexibility it didn't have in the tournament. Milne's recall in particular restores a genuine strike option to a pace attack built around Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy and Kyle Jamieson.
Beyond being a standalone bilateral assignment, the series carries the specific weight of a rematch following a World Cup final defeat, giving both camps a clear emotional and competitive subplot heading into October 22. For India, the five-match series also follows directly on from their own five-match T20I series against West Indies that starts this week, meaning New Zealand will likely be facing a touring Indian squad already several matches deep into its T20I rhythm for the home season.
With Ravindra unavailable, New Zealand's middle-order batting responsibility shifts further onto Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips and the returning Mark Chapman, while Bracewell's recall gives Santner another spin-bowling option to pair with his own left-arm tweakers. How Bevon Jacobs is used in his likely debut assignment — whether as a specialist batter or with a wider all-round brief — will be one of the more interesting selection threads to follow once the squad lands in New Zealand.
New Zealand's management has been candid about not wanting to rush Ravindra given what comes immediately after this series: a three-match ODI series against the same opponents from November 4, followed by a heavy block of Test cricket over the following six months. That context explains why NZC has been willing to plan around his absence for the T20Is rather than push for a premature return — the shoulder only needs to hold up for a T20 World Cup rematch once, and risking a longer-term setback for one white-ball series would be a poor trade for a squad with a full year of cricket still ahead of it.
For fantasy purposes, Ravindra's absence removes one of the more reliable top-order, part-time-spin combinations from New Zealand's XI, pushing captaincy consideration further toward Daryl Mitchell or Glenn Phillips as all-format value picks, while Milne's return adds a genuine strike-bowling option worth tracking once team news confirms the XI for the Christchurch opener. None of this is a projection of the actual XI or toss result — New Zealand have more than two weeks to finalise their combination before the first ball is bowled at Hagley Oval.
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Squad lists, the injury timeline and series dates in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked reporting from multiple outlets, current as of October 5, 2026.
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