IND vs NZ 2026: Why is Tilak Varma not playing in India vs New Zealand 1st T20I

India and New Zealand are all set to square off in the first T20I of the five-match series at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Wednesday, January 21, 2026. The Blackcaps clinched the ODI series by winning the three-match ODI series by 2-1 on the back of disciplined bowling and Daryl Mitchell’s consistent batting.

Tilak Varma is out for the first three-matches of the series as he experienced pain in his abdominal region during domestic Vijay Hazare match against Bengal on January 6 and later he was asked to undergo scans and was ruled out for first three T20I matches.

Toss Update

New Zealand has won the toss and elected to bowl first. Mitchell Santner stated that wicket looks good, signalling it would be a high scoring encounter, also keeping in mind short boundaries at the venue. Dew will also be a factor as the game progresses.

Why did Tilak Varma miss out on playing 1st T20I ?

India batter Tilak Varma is ruled out for the first three-matches of the T20I series against New Zealand due to sustaining an injury. Ishan Kishan, who had been picked up earlier in the T20 World Cup squad following his sensational Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and leading his side Jharkhand to winning SMAT undefeated, was drafted into the XI to gain match practice ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup next month.

What did the captains say?

Suryakumar Yadav, India captain

We were looking to bowl first because we felt there was dew around 8.30 during our practice. But we don't mind putting runs on the board and we have done well batting first. Shreyas, Harshit, Bishnoi and Kuldeep are the ones who are missing out.

Mitchell Santner, New Zealand captain

We are going to bowl first. Looks like a pretty good wicket and looks pretty high-scoring. Last week was pretty special. Every team knows how hard it is to come to India and won but this is a fresh series and they are a tough team in home conditions. Great start for us in terms of prep for the World Cup. Three seamers. Clarke makes his debut, Jamieson and Duffy are playing as well.

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Playing XIs

India

Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh

New Zealand

Tim Robinson, Devon Conway(w), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy