Suryakumar, Bumrah Begin NZ T20I Prep; Hardik to Join Later

• Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah have started preparations for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand at the New VCA Stadium in Nagpur.
• The first T20I is scheduled for January 21 in Nagpur, marking India's final T20 assignment before the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 title defence.
• Key players like Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, and Ishan Kishan attended an optional practice session on Sunday.
• Hardik Pandya skipped the optional session but is expected to join the practice under lights on Monday.
• Ravi Bishnoi and Shreyas Iyer were included in the squad, replacing Washington Sundar and Tilak Varma, respectively.

Why It Matters: India's T20I squad, including Suryakumar and Bumrah, has begun training for the New Zealand series.