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Homecoming For Hardik Pandya ! Star All-Rounder Set To Play First International Game In Front Of Home Crowd; Heres How
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday confirmed the venues for India's white ball series against New Zealand, which will be played at the start of 2026. The schedule was confirmed during the Apex Council Meeting on Saturday. Vadodara, Rajkot and Indore have been finalised as the venue for ODI series while Nagpur, Raipur, Guwahati, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram will host the five T20Is in the year of T20I World Cup.
Surprisingly, Vadodara will host its first men's international game in more than 15 years. The tour will kick off with the first ODI on January 11 at the newly inaugurated Kotambi Stadium. The stadium has already hosted three international games featuring India and West Indies Women's teams. The stadium also hosted six matches during the 2025 Women's Premier league (WPL).
Vadodara hosting a game means their home grown superstar Hardik Pandya will finally play an international game infront of his home crowd. Hardik received a warm wlecome by the Vadodara crowd after winning the T20 World Cup 2024. Meanwhile, New Zealand were the same team that last played an international game at Vadodara at the Reliance Stadium in 2010.
Further Details
The New Zealand cricket team is set to tour India in January 2026 for a series of One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). The tour kicks off with a three-match ODI series, starting on Sunday, January 11, 2026, in Baroda at 1:30 PM. The second ODI will be played on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, in Rajkot, also at 1:30 PM, followed by the third and final ODI in Indore on Sunday, January 18, 2026, at the same time.
Following the ODI series, a five-match T20I series will commence. The first T20I is scheduled for Wednesday, January 21, 2026, in Nagpur, with a start time of 7:00 PM. Raipur will host the second T20I on Friday, January 23, 2026, at 7:00 PM. The third T20I will be played in Guwahati on Sunday, January 25, 2026, at 7:00 PM. The penultimate match, the fourth T20I, is set for Wednesday, January 28, 2026, in Vizag at 7:00 PM. The tour concludes with the fifth and final T20I on Saturday, January 31, 2026, in Trivandrum, also starting at 7:00 PM.
India and New Zealand last played an ODI at the Champions Trophy final 2025 where the Men in Blue defeated the Kiwis by four wickets claiming the CT trophy for the second time. Indian captain Rohit Sharma was the Man of the Match in the game.
