The high-stakes five-match T20I series between India and New Zealand began on January 21, 2026, at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. This series is a critical final rehearsal for both nations ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup scheduled for February. India, captained by Suryakumar Yadav, entered the match seeking to test their combinations. New Zealand, fresh off a historic ODI series win on Indian soil, aimed to continue their dominance, though they had to navigate the series opener without one of their premier finishers.
The ‘Bangladesh reason’ behind James Neesham’s absence from IND vs NZ 1st T20I
The reason James Neesham is not playing in the 1st T20I is his extraordinary commitment to the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and his franchise, the Rajshahi Warriors. Although Neesham is a core member of New Zealand’s T20 World Cup squad, he chose to extend his stay in Dhaka to help the Warriors in their quest for the BPL title. His team finished at the top of the league stage with 8 wins in 10 games, and their playoff matches directly overlapped with the India tour.
Rajshahi Warriors’ coach, Hannan Sarkar, personally requested the 35-year-old all-rounder to stay for the business end of the tournament, a request Neesham enthusiastically supported. To make this happen, Neesham took full responsibility for the logistics, personally contacting New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to arrange his own No-Objection Certificate (NOC). Sarkar praised Neesham’s Warrior Spirit noting that the player handled all the formalities himself to ensure he could play in the BPL final on January 23.
“Let me start by saying that even though he is a national team player, Neesham will stay with Rajshahi Warriors until the end of the BPL. When I requested him to see if he could somehow stay, he himself showed interest. But interest alone wasn’t enough, as he had national duties as well. We all knew how important a player like Neesham is for our team, so we tried everything possible. Neesham handled the entire process on his own, from contacting his country’s cricket board to arranging the NOC. He told me that if Rajshahi reach the final, he will return to the national team immediately after playing that match.” Hannah was was quoted as saying by BSSnews.net
Consequently, Neesham will fly to India on January 22 only if Rajshahi is eliminated early; otherwise, he will join the national team on January 24 after the final. This means he will miss the first two T20Is in Nagpur and Raipur, with his earliest expected appearance being the 3rd T20I in Guwahati.
“Neesham will join the New Zealand team in India after his BPL commitments on either the 22nd or 24th so will be available for the end of the T20 tour of India,” a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) official was quoted as saying by Livemint.
𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐌 𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆! 🇳🇿💪
Jimmy Neesham has officially extended his stay with the Rajshahi Warriors. 🏏#RajshahiWarriors #BPL2024 #JimmyNeesham #WarriorSpirit #BangladeshCricket pic.twitter.com/Lvq6aKXeSy— Rajshahi Warriors (@RajshahiW) January 19, 2026
Mitchell Santner win the toss in India vs New Zealand T20I at Nagpur
In the opening T20I at Nagpur, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bowl first, citing a good batting surface and the expectation of dew later in the evening. India’s skipper, Suryakumar, revealed that they also would have preferred to bowl but were prepared to set a target, highlighting the return of Ishan Kishan to bat at No. 3 in place of the injured Tilak Varma.
The Indian lineup saw significant rotations, with Shreyas Iyer, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav all missing out on the final XI. On the other hand, New Zealand handed a T20I debut to young pace bowler Kristian Clarke, while also bringing back Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy to lead a three-man seam attack. Michael Bracewell will provide the necessary all-round balance for the visitors as they look to build momentum ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
