Shreyas Iyer’s India bring in Varun, Bhuvneshwar for 5th T20I

India captain Shreyas Iyer has made two changes for the fifth and final T20I against New Zealand at Seddon Park, Hamilton, after New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss on Sunday (1 November) and elected to field. Varun Chakaravarthy plays his first game of the tour and Bhuvneshwar Kumar returns to the XI.

Mayank Yadav and Axar Patel make way. India lead the New Zealand vs India T20I Series 2026 3-1 after New Zealand won the fourth T20I at Eden Park, Auckland, by 87 runs.

India’s XI

India’s side is Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy.

Iyer said at the toss that Varun had been waiting for his opportunity, and that the team had received a motivating speech in the huddle. Mayank Yadav took 3 for 48 in the Auckland defeat, while Axar Patel took 1 for 43 and made 7.

New Zealand’s change

New Zealand have brought in Blair Tickner for Matthew Fisher, who took 1 for 34 in the previous game. In Auckland, Glenn Phillips made 107 off 49 balls and Michael Bracewell 65 off 25 as New Zealand posted 259/7. India could manage only 172/9 in reply.

Gambhir’s stance and what’s next

Gautam Gambhir said before the match that his job is not to make everyone happy but to take the right decisions, not the popular ones. The Tribune reports that New Zealand have lost eight of their 10 T20I encounters against India in 2026.

The T20I leg ends here. The five-match ODI series begins on Wednesday, 4 November, in Auckland, with the first ODI at 7:30 AM IST.