Adam Milne has not played for New Zealand in over a year, and he is one of seven seamers picked for India
New Zealand have named 16 for the five T20Is against India from 22 October, with Adam Milne and Michael Bracewell back and Rachin Ravindra out with the shoulder he dislocated at a promotional shoot.
Sep 23, 2026
Adam Milne is 34, has played 56 T20Is, and has not bowled for New Zealand in more than a year. He is in the squad to face India when the five-match T20I series starts at Hagley Oval on 22 October.
Mitchell Santner captains the 16. Rachin Ravindra is not one of them. The shoulder he dislocated at a promotional shoot needs around six weeks of rehab, and New Zealand are aiming to have him back for the ODIs, which begin at Eden Park on 4 November.
The 16
Mitchell Santner (captain), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert, Nathan Smith.
Thirteen of them were in the squad that finished runners-up to India at the T20 World Cup in March. Milne and Bracewell both missed that tournament through injury. Bevon Jacobs, the Auckland batter who spent the 2025 IPL season on Mumbai Indians’ books without getting a game, is also in.
Seven seamers for five games in 11 days
Count the fast bowlers: Ferguson, Henry, Jamieson, Duffy, Foulkes, Smith and Milne. That is seven, in a format where a side rarely fields more than four. Rob Walter did not dress it up as anything other than workload planning.
“Our priority is winning games and putting the best team on the park, but we also have to keep in mind the volume of cricket in the coming months,” the head coach said. “We’re very fortunate with the depth that we’ve got to call upon, so we’ll look to use all 16 squad members throughout the series as we manage workloads.”
The volume is not in doubt. India’s tour is 12 matches long: five T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests, finishing at Hagley Oval on 1 December. The T20Is alone come thick and fast, with two in Christchurch on 22 and 24 October, then Wellington on 27 October, Auckland on 30 October and Hamilton on 1 November. A deep pace group lets Walter rotate through that without anyone bowling four games in a row, and keeps his Test bowlers fresh for the Basin Reserve on 19 November.
Where Ravindra’s absence bites
“We’re gutted for Rachin,” Walter said. “He’s going to play a big role for us this summer, so it’s important that he doesn’t rush his rehab, but we’re optimistic he’ll be back for the ODIs.”
Jacobs looks like the batting cover. The bowling is harder to replace. Ravindra’s left-arm spin did real work at the World Cup, and without it New Zealand lean on Santner and Bracewell for their slow overs, with Glenn Phillips as the part-timer. Whether that costs them much depends on India’s batters, and in March they did not seem to care who was bowling.
The last time these two met
It was the World Cup final in Ahmedabad on 8 March. India made 255 for 5, bowled New Zealand out for 159 and won by 96 runs, the first team to defend the T20 title. Thirteen of the squad that went to that World Cup are back for this one. They get five chances at home to take something back.