India begin their five match one day international series against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland on Tuesday, 4 November, opening a short and packed stretch of white ball cricket between the two sides.
The series runs across five matches in 12 days, a calendar that leaves little rest between games and puts squad depth and recovery firmly in focus for both teams.
Shubman Gill leads India for the first three matches of the series, with Shreyas Iyer set to take over the captaincy for the last two matches, while Mitchell Santner leads New Zealand.
Gill and Iyer to split the captaincy
The split leadership plan gives Gill the opening three games before Iyer takes charge of the closing two, a division of responsibility across a series played in four different venues.
Santner, leading the home side, will look to use familiar conditions against an Indian side that arrives with a settled core and a returning pair of senior names.
Rohit and Kohli return in focus
The preview build up has centred on the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, whose presence in the squad is presented as the main attraction of the series for supporters.
Their return gives the Indian batting order its most experienced names at the top, and their form across the five games will shape much of the talk around the tour.
Eden Park pitch and the full schedule
Eden Park is described as batter friendly, with good bounce and short straight boundaries of about 50 to 55 metres, conditions that usually reward attacking batting.
After Auckland on 4 November, the series moves to Wellington on 7 November, Hamilton on 10 November, and Mount Maunganui for the final two matches on 13 and 15 November.
This story is a series preview published before the toss of the first match, so it carries no result from the Auckland opener.
