Bhuvneshwar Kumar trains in New Zealand ahead of return to India squad

A new experiment is being prepared for cricket fans: the excitement of cricket will now be available on TikTok, known for its dance videos, funny clips, and viral reels.

New Zealand Cricket and broadcaster Sky have announced plans to stream the first six overs of selected matches from the T20 series between India and New Zealand directly on TikTok. This event is scheduled to begin with the first T20I match on Thursday, October 22nd.

The main goal of this initiative is to attract young audiences to cricket. To achieve this, the initial overs of the match will be shown in the popular vertical video format for mobile devices, allowing viewers in New Zealand to follow the action live simply by scrolling through their TikTok feed.

As part of this program, developed by New Zealand Cricket and Sky, the live broadcast of the first six overs of the match will take place on the official BLACKCAPS TikTok account. This feature is intended for viewers residing in New Zealand.

The first T20 International between India and New Zealand will start in Christchurch at 8:00 PM local time. For the Indian time zone, the match begins at 12:30 PM. It is important to note that only the action from the first six overs will be shown on TikTok, not the entire match. These overs are significant in T20 cricket because, due to fielding restrictions, batsmen try to score quickly, and there is a high probability of losing early wickets with big hits during this period.

According to BLACKCAPS, the first Genesis Powerplay will be streamed free live on NZC TikTok tomorrow, while the full match can be watched free live on Three and ThreeNow.

Sports broadcasting methods are rapidly transforming. Now, organizers and broadcasters are trying to reach viewers not only through traditional television and streaming platforms but also through the social media platforms that young people use daily.

New Zealand Cricket's initiative is part of this strategy. The fast-paced game and aggressive play in the first six overs may attract the attention of viewers watching cricket live on mobile devices.

Through this experiment, it is planned both to engage young viewers in cricket and to motivate them to watch the entire match. In New Zealand, the entire match between India and New Zealand will be available free on the Three and ThreeNow channels.

In India, the broadcast of this T20 series will be on Sony Sports Network, and the live stream of the matches will be available on Sony LIV. Viewers in New Zealand will be able to see the entire match on Three and ThreeNow, while on TikTok they will only have access to the live stream of the first six overs. Although there are currently no plans to show the entire T20 match on TikTok, this initiative represents a new way to bring cricket to the youth. It remains to be seen how much this experiment with live cricket streaming in the era of reels will appeal to viewers.

Before the Indian team's visit to New Zealand, where exciting matches in T20, ODI, and Test formats are scheduled, former Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar gave important recommendations to the Indian batsmen.

Gavaskar warned the team in advance about the potential dangers during this series. He believes that the outcome of the matches and the players' performance will largely depend on local weather conditions.

Gavaskar noted that the conditions in New Zealand are similar to those in England. If the weather is clear and pleasant, the ball will not spin much, and fielding assistance will be minimal, allowing the Indian batsmen to score runs easily.

In the four T20 matches of the series between India and West Indies, which concluded on Wednesday (October 14) with India losing by 24 runs and the series tied at 2-2, the fifth and decisive match will take place in Bangalore on Saturday (October 17). This match will determine the winner of the series.

However, throughout the first four encounters of this T20 series between India and West Indies, Vaibha Suryavanshi was not in the starting lineup, although he was often present with the team during water breaks. This raised several questions regarding the reasons for his absence from the squad. He is likely to be on the bench again in the fifth T20 in Bangalore.

Vaibha's international career began on July 4, 2026, in Manchester against England in a T20, although he had previously participated in the tour of Ireland but did not receive playing time. To date, Vaibha has played 8 T20 matches, scoring 246 runs at an average of 30.75.

However, one statistic emerged: under Gautam Gambhir's leadership, Vaibha was given less playing time than when VVS Laxman served as the head coach of the Indian team.

Vaibha was first selected for the tour of Ireland, where two matches were held, both lost by the Indian team, but he did not play. His debut occurred in the second match of the five-match series on the tour of England. England won this series 4-0, and the first T20 in Chester-Le-Street was a draw.

During the tour of England, Vaibha played in three T20 matches in Manchester, Nottingham, and Bristol, scoring 42 runs at an average of 14. His strike rate was 168.

Next followed the tour of Zimbabwe, where Sandeep Samson was not part of the squad. Consequently, Vaibha was given the opportunity to start alongside Abhishek Sharma. In this series, Vaibha made a splash, becoming the 'Player of the Series' and scoring 151 runs in three matches at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 196.10. It is worth noting that for this tour in July 202, former Indian player VVS Laxman was appointed as the head coach of the Indian team.

This was followed by a three-match T20 series at home against Afghanistan, in which Vaibha Suryavanshi did not participate in any match. Then came a T20 international match against Japan, where Vaibha also did not play, and VVS Laxman was the head coach then.

Subsequently, the Asian Games 2026 took place, where the quarter-final against Afghanistan was cancelled. After this, India defeated Sri Lanka and then Pakistan in the semi-finals and final, winning the gold medal. Against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Vaibha played, scoring 38 and 15 runs respectively.

Thus, since Vaibha was included in the Indian squad, the team has played 21 matches. Gautam Gambhir acted as coach in 14 matches, while VVS Laxman coached in 7 matches. Including the T20 in Bangalore on Saturday, the total number of T20s in which Vaibha will be in the squad will reach 22.