Indian cricketers went on a jungle safari in Nagpur ahead of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will begin on Wednesday, January 21. During the outing, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi was seen in a fun mood as he playfully tapped Rinku Singh on the head and joked with him to look at the camera.
Poor Rinku Singh 🤣 pic.twitter.com/zkUoatFp4J
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) January 20, 2026
India will start the T20I series with the aim of delivering a strong performance before the T20 World Cup 2026. The series opener will be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. This will also be India’s final T20I series before the World Cup. The team is led by Suryakumar Yadav.
Sanju Samson 😎 | Rinku Singh 💪 | Surya Kumar 🕺 | Ravi Bishnoi 🌀
Nagpur vibe check before the 1st T20I ✅🔥
Safari & jungle fun 🦁🌿🌙
Team bonding + full masti mode ON 💙🇮🇳
@SanjuSamsonFP pic.twitter.com/RH6eXGWD95— Sachin™ (@SAMSONFAN09) January 20, 2026
Several Indian players took part in the safari, including Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ravi Bishnoi, Ishan Kishan, and Rinku Singh. Sanju Samson shared a video of the outing on Instagram, showing the players enjoying a jeep ride through the forest. In the video, Bishnoi can be seen repeatedly tapping Rinku on the head in a light-hearted manner.
India will begin their T20 World Cup
.India will begin their T20 World Cup title defence against the United States of America on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. They will also face Pakistan, Namibia, and the Netherlands in the group stage.
Ravi Bishnoi has returned to India’s T20I squad for the New Zealand series after replacing Washington Sundar, who was ruled out due to a side strain suffered during the ODI series. Bishnoi makes his comeback to the T20I team after nearly a year. His last T20I appearance was in February 2025 against England, where he picked up one wicket. So far, Bishnoi has taken 61 wickets in 42 T20Is with an economy rate of 7.35.
Abhishek Sharma
Sanju Samson
Ishan Kishan
Hardik Pandya
Shreyas Iyer
Surya Kumar Yadav
Rinku Singh
And team India during a practice session in Nagpur ahead of the IND vs NZ 1st T20I……..#SanjuSamson #HardikPandya #rinkusingh #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/kBupOxv5i7— ʀᴏʜɪɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ⁴⁵ (@jaatxaryan) January 20, 2026
India have also made another change to the squad, with Shreyas Iyer added as an injury replacement for Tilak Varma, who has been ruled out of the first three T20Is after undergoing abdominal surgery. Iyer returns to the T20I setup after two years. He last played a T20I in 2023 against Australia.
During the IPL 2025 season, Shreyas Iyer scored 604 runs in 17 matches at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175.07, including six half-centuries. He made his T20I debut in 2017 against New Zealand and has played 51 T20Is so far, scoring 1,104 runs at an average of 30.66 with eight half-centuries.
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