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India are scheduled to tour New Zealand for a full-fledged series involving five T20Is, two ODIs and as many Tests.
Team India will switch their focus back to ODIs once the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 and IPL 2026 are done and dusted. With the 2027 ODI World Cup in focus, India will play as many as 15 ODIs later this year. This includes three ODIs each against Afghanistan, England, West Indies and Sri Lanka.
India had played a three-match ODI series against New Zealand when the Back Caps toured the country earlier this year.
Later this year, the Men in Blue will also travel to New Zealand to play five T20Is, two ODIs and two Tests. This will be India's first full-fledged tour to New Zealand in six years, having last done so in 2020 when they played five T20Is, two Tests and three ODIs.
More game time for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma?
However, according to a report in CricHub, India could end up playing more ODIs and lesser T20Is against the Kiwis later this year. The report mentions that India could play a four-match ODI series against New Zealand, which would eventually mean a shortened three-match T20I series.
The report adds that it was New Zealand Cricket (NZC) that made the proposal to the BCCI with a possible extension to the ODI leg of the tour.
While India will benefit from the extended ODI series as it builds up to the 2027 ODI World Cup, the reason for New Zealand's decision is to boost their commercial revenue, since Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will play the series in all likelihood.
This could be the duo's final tour to New Zealand, and because of that, there could be an increased amount of interest among the broadcaster and the stakeholder. Both Virat and Rohit have already retired from T20Is and Tests, so ODIs is the only international format they currently play.
Thus, should BCCI accept NZC's proposal to extend the ODIs to four, both Virat and Rohit will end up getting more game time. Virat Kohli was India's top scorer when India took on New Zealand in an ODI series at home earlier this year. He aggregated 240 runs from three matches, whereas Rohit could manage to score just 61 runs from three matches.
India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, recently reached the semi-finals of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 tournament.
They did so with a five-wicket win over West Indies in the Super 8 stage, as Sanju Samson scored an unbeaten 50-ball 97. The Men in Blue will lock horns against England in their semi-final in Mumbai on Thursday. South Africa will take on New Zealand in the first semi-final in Kolkata on Wednesday.
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