India recently defeated South Africa in a five-match T20I series 3-1 after one match was called off due to excessive fog. Meanwhile, India are gearing up for the T20 World Cup 2026 as they look to defend the title that they won in 2024.
India rounded off their all-format series against South Africa with a 3-1 win in the five-match T20I series. The Men in Blue displayed a strong performance in all the four completed games as they gear up for the T20 title defence next year in February and March.
India now have only one T20I assignment before the World Cup kicks in from February 7 onwards. Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named the Indian squad for the series. The 15-member squad will be led by Suryakumar Yadav, however, his deputy will be Axar Patel as Shubman Gill has been dropped from the squad.
The Gill-opener strategy didn’t work for India as they went back to the wicketkeeper-at-the-top strategy with Sanju Samson being the first-choice wicketkeeper and Ishan Kishan his back-up.
However, Kishan and the other Indian team members will be having limited opportunities up their sleeves from here as India will not play many international games.
When will Team India be in action next?
India will be back in action next month for a white-ball series against New Zealand at home. The Men in Blue will host the Kiwis for three ODIs from January 11 before a five-match series against the Blackcaps from January 21 onwards.
The first ODI will take place at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara before the second outing on January 14 at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. The final match will take place at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on January 18.
The T20Is will begin from January 21 onwards with the first one being played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, followed by the second one at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on January 23. The caravan will then move to Guwahati for the third clash at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on January 25, before the fourth one at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on January 28. The final T20I will take place at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on January 31.
This will be the final series for India before the start of the T20 World Cup 2026 on February 7.