Mitchell Santner anticipates Rohit-Kohli return for New Zealand tour

Mitchell Santner has seen enough of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to know what is coming. The New Zealand captain is under no illusions: when India’s one-day giants land in October for a long white-ball and Test tour, they will not be easing their way back.

Kohli and Rohit, now committed solely to ODI cricket, are set to rejoin India’s set-up for a five-ODI, five-T20I and two-Test tour across October and November 2026. For Santner, that immediately changes the temperature of the series.

“It is going to be a challenge. They are still very good players as we have seen for a long time; masters of the ODI game,” Santner told PTI. “They have taken a liking to some New Zealand pitches in the past. Hopefully, not this time around.”

He knows the scars. India’s senior batters have often thrived on New Zealand’s true surfaces, and the Blackcaps’ left-arm spinner is desperate to flip that script.

“It is going to be a great series, no doubt. It is all a lead-up for the World Cup next year in ODIs. Everyone is trying to figure out their best team; what that might look like for October next year with limited games.”

Beating India at home the first mission

Before anyone talks World Cup, Santner has set a blunt target: win the ODI series against India at home.

New Zealand host India for five ODIs, then welcome Sri Lanka for three more in the format, before heading to England in September 2027 to fine-tune for the World Cup.

“We’ve got five (matches) against India, three against Sri Lanka at home and then it is World Cup prep in England (in September 2027), right before the World Cup,” he said.

The immediate priority, though, is clear.

“(But) first things first, you want to win a series against India at home, which would be an awesome thing. Then it is (about) trying to find what the make-up might look like come October next year.”

The schedule is relentless. From Hagley Oval to Eden Park, from Bay Oval to the Basin Reserve, India’s tour is built like a full examination rather than a quick visit.

India tour of New Zealand 2026 – key fixtures (IST)

• T20Is: Oct 22 (Christchurch), Oct 24 (Christchurch), Oct 27 (Wellington), Oct 30 (Auckland), Nov 1 (Hamilton) – all 12:30 PM
• ODIs: Nov 4 (Auckland), Nov 7 (Wellington), Nov 10 (Hamilton), Nov 13 (Mount Maunganui), Nov 15 (Mount Maunganui) – all 7:30 AM
• Tests: Nov 19–23 (Wellington), Nov 27–Dec 1 (Christchurch) – both 3:30 AM

Memories of a 3–0 shock and a changing India

The last time these two sides locked horns in a Test series, New Zealand walked away with a result that shook Indian cricket. A 3–0 win in India, snapping a home unbeaten streak that had stretched more than 12 years and 18 series.

Santner was at the heart of it. His 7/53 and 6/104 in Pune turned that second Test and sealed the series. Those numbers still follow him around.

“I think what we spoke about before is trying to adapt quickly,” he said, revisiting that tour.

This time, the conditions are reversed and the personnel different. India’s Test side is evolving, new faces are filtering in, and New Zealand’s surfaces will not offer the comfort of familiar bounce and pace.

“For a new-look India side, it is probably going to be the first time some players have been playing red-ball (cricket) in New Zealand, where the pitches will be a little bit foreign. They will probably do a bit more than they might do back home.”

‘Very well-rounded’ India bring serious firepower

Even as he talks up the difficulty of the conditions, Santner is not underestimating what is coming his way. He likes the look of India’s Test squad. A lot.

“If you look at their squad, it is a very well-rounded squad,” he said. “You throw (Jasprit) Bumrah back into the bowling attack, you have got (Mohammed) Siraj, (Prasidh) Krishna with the bounce. You have got (Ravindra) Jadeja and (Manav) Suthar to bowl spin. You have got probably a fourth seamer in there as well.”

That blend of high-class pace and varied spin, backed by depth in the batting, convinces him this will be no soft landing.

“It is shaping up nicely. I think it is going to be a great series. Traditionally, it can do a little bit in New Zealand at that time of the year.”

If the ball moves and the attacks are stacked, the margins will be thin. Which is exactly how New Zealand like it.

Fighting fire with fire in New Zealand conditions

Santner expects the Tests to demand more than just patience. He believes teams may have to change gears quickly, even in the longest format.

“It could be trying to fight fire with fire, playing your shots,” he said. At the same time, he knows there will be passages where survival is the only option.

“There might be times we need to sit back and let the bowlers go for a bit, try to get the shine off the ball. There is a lot that can go on in the Test matches in New Zealand. It is going to be an exciting series and one that we can't wait for.”

That balance – counterpunching when the ball is in your zone, then digging in when it’s jagging around – often decides New Zealand Tests. India’s batters, old and new, will have to find it fast.

Why only two Tests?

One question lingers around a tour this heavyweight: why just two Tests?

For Santner, the answer lies in history and economics rather than any lack of appetite for the format.

“For a long time, New Zealand played two-match series. There’s obviously the money side of it as well,” he said. “I know it costs a lot to play Test cricket. (It is about) timing as well; white-ball brings in the crowds in New Zealand, it brings the money. That's why I guess it is the 10-2 split.”

Five T20Is, five ODIs, two Tests. The balance tells its own story about where the modern game leans.

Yet when India arrive, even a short Test contest carries huge weight.

“Whenever India come, even if it is only two Test matches, it is going to be exciting. Everyone wants to challenge themselves against the best in the world and they are up there. For us, it is going to be an important series like it is for India with the (World Test Championship) points that are on offer.”

Rohit and Kohli back in blue, a “well-rounded” India in whites, a New Zealand side desperate to defend home turf and bank WTC points. Two Tests, not three. Enough, perhaps, for a rivalry to tilt one way – or to crack wide open again.