India will return to New Zealand this summer for a 12-match tour that also marks the opening sporting event in celebrations of 100 years of India–New Zealand sporting ties, with ticket sales opening in August.

The tour will feature five T20 internationals, five one-day internationals and two Test matches, with the opening game scheduled for Christchurch on October 22 and the final Test concluding at Hagley Oval on December 1.

The tour carries added significance as the first sporting event announced under centenary celebrations marking 100 years of India–New Zealand sporting ties.

It's a relationship that began with the Indian hockey team’s tour in 1926, sports minister Mark Mitchell said during the launch of the BlackCaps' summer season.  

India's visits are among the most anticipated events on the New Zealand sporting calendar, drawing strong crowds, intense media attention and significant interest from the country's growing Indian community.

The series begins with a five-match T20 contest before shifting to five ODIs. The teams will then meet in a two-Test series at the Basin Reserve in Wellington and Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

With India one of the biggest attractions in world cricket, demand for tickets is expected to be high across all venues.

India: 100 years of sporting ties

India is one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing strategic partners, and sport has long been a quiet but powerful connector. Cricket and hockey, in particular, have created enduring links between athletes, administrators, and fans in both countries.

Those links were on display in March 2025, when Prime Minister Christopher Luxon led a trade mission to India. Images circulated of an impromptu street cricket match, with ministers, local children, and officials sharing a bat and ball.

At the same time, New Zealand and India signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Sport, formalising collaboration across high performance, governance, and capability-building.

For athletes, these relationships are deeply personal. 

Looking ahead

With India recently announced as the host of the 2030 Commonwealth Games, as well as its proposed bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games, the country is signalling its intent to become an even bigger force in global sport.

Engagement is important for New Zealand not only for competitive opportunities, but for commercial partnerships and people-to-people links.

Sustained engagement with countries like India, Malaysia, Japan, and China is essential not only for securing test matches and competition opportunities, but for strengthening people-to-people ties that ripple back into communities across New Zealand.

Sport diplomacy, at its best, creates spaces where politics softens and trust forms. Teams from vastly different systems meet as equals on the field, and those moments ripple outward into friendships, shared understanding, and long-term relationships.

Full schedule

T20Is

1. Oct 22 – Christchurch

2. Oct 24 – Christchurch

3. Oct 27 – Wellington

4. Oct 30 – Auckland

5. Nov 1 – Hamilton

ODIs

6. Nov 4 – Auckland

7. Nov 7 – Wellington

8. Nov 10 – Hamilton

9. Nov 13 – Tauranga

10. Nov 15 – Tauranga

Tests

11. Nov 19–23 – Wellington (Basin Reserve)

12. Nov 27–Dec 1 – Christchurch (Hagley Oval)