India A to play three four-day matches in New Zealand ahead of senior team's WTC Test series
India A will play three unofficial Tests against New Zealand A from 24 October to 10 November, ahead of India's senior team tour featuring T20Is, ODIs and two Tests in Wellington and Christchurch, as Shubman Gill's side aims to boost their WTC standings.
India A will tour New Zealand in October to play three four-day matches against New Zealand A. The series, which will take place from 24 October to 10 November, will act as a crucial preparation for some of the Indian players to adapt to the conditions in New Zealand.
The senior Indian men's teams are scheduled to take on New Zealand in a five-match T20I series, as many ODIs, and a two-match Test series. The limited-overs series will begin from 22 October and run till 15 November.
Wellington will host the first Test starting from 19 November, before the teams travel to Christchurch for the second Test from 27 November.
Lincoln will host the first unofficial Test between New Zealand A and India A from 24 to 27 October, followed by the second match in Christchurch from 31 October to 3 November.
The series will conclude in Lincoln with the third match taking place from 7 to 10 November.
Unofficial Test series to clash with domestic tournaments
The unofficial Test series will also clash with domestic cricket seasons in both India and New Zealand. In India, the Ranji Trophy will get underway on 11 October, whereas the Ford Trophy (one-day tournament) will be held in New Zealand from 28 October to 12 November.
There will then be a one-week break before the Plunket Shield, New Zealand's First-Class tournament, gets underway on 19 November.
The Shubman Gill-led India are in fifth place in the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) standings with 68 points and a points percentage (PCT) of 51.52. New Zealand, the inaugural WTC champions, are in third place with 52 points and a PCT of 72.22.
After the Test series against New Zealand, India will take on Australia in a five-match Test series at home in early 2027. Australia currently lead the WTC standings with 96 points and a PCT of 80.
India recently defeated Sri Lanka 1-0 in a two-match Test series in Sri Lanka. Shubman Gill and Co will need to win at least six out of their last seven Tests to get their PCT to around 65.
With the race for the WTC final set to intensify, India's two Tests against New Zealand will be important. The India A tour could also help prepare the next group of players for the challenges of Test cricket overseas.
About the Author
PN Vishnu is a contributor with the LiveMint Sports team, where he primarily covers cricket, football and other major sporting events. A passionate sports journalist with nearly a decade of experience in digital media, Vishnu has been an ardent follower of sports for more than 10 years. While he enjoys covering a wide range of disciplines, his biggest sporting passions remain cricket and football. He is also a devoted supporter of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League and Manchester United in English football. <br><br> Vishnu pursued a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, in 2016 and graduated in 2017. Since then, he has built an extensive career in sports journalism, working with leading media organisations including Deccan Chronicle and Firstpost. In 2025, he worked for CricXtasy for six months before joining LiveMint in February 2026. <br><br> Over the years, he has reported extensively on marquee sporting events such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Super League (ISL). His reporting has also provided opportunities to interact with some of the game's leading personalities, including India cricketers Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhruv Jurel. <br><br> Away from the newsroom, Vishnu enjoys unwinding with books, discovering new music and binge-watching television series.
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