Zimbabwe Tour of India 2027: ODI & T20I Schedule, Eden Gardens

Zimbabwe's tour of India in January 2027 is the kind of fixture that looks small on the surface and matters more than it should. It is Zimbabwe's first full bilateral tour of India in years — and it lands at exactly the moment India's selectors need to look at the layer of squad below the established white-ball XI. With the Asia Cup 2027 (50-over, hosted in Bangladesh in August-September) and the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa-Zimbabwe-Namibia in November-December 2027 both on the horizon, the Zimbabwe series is a low-stakes audition window for fringe players: Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Sai Sudharsan.

For Zimbabwe, this is a chance to play their highest-profile bilateral in years against the world's most-watched home side. Expect Sikandar Raza to lead with the calm authority that has defined his captaincy era, Sean Williams at the top, and a young pace attack tested against world-class Indian batting in real conditions.

This hub brings together the schedule, venue shortlist, broadcast plan, head-to-head record and the storylines we will be tracking. The Eden Gardens ODI on January 3, 2027 is the only fixture currently confirmed — every other date and venue below remains provisional and subject to BCCI announcement.

---

Series at a glance

• Tour window: Late December 2026 to mid-January 2027 (provisional)
• Format: 3 ODIs + 3 T20Is (subject to BCCI announcement)
• Host: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
• Visitors: Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC)
• Confirmed fixture: 1st ODI — January 3, 2027 — Kolkata (Eden Gardens)
• Broadcast (India): Star Sports network (TV) and Disney+ Hotstar (digital)
• Strategic frame: India's ODI World Cup 2027 fringe-XI audition window

This is Zimbabwe's first full bilateral white-ball tour of India in recent memory. The tour fits in the calendar window between the Sri Lanka tour of India 2026 (which closes the year) and the Australia BGT 2027 series (which starts in late January). The full home-season frame is in the India home season 2026-27 master schedule.

---

Full schedule (provisional)

The dates and venues below are based on the BCCI's indicative international calendar. Eden Gardens on January 3 is firm; the rest is subject to formal BCCI confirmation.

#	Match	Dates	Likely venue	Start time (IST)
1	1st ODI	Jan 3, 2027	Kolkata (Eden Gardens)	1:30 PM
2	2nd ODI	Jan 6, 2027	Indore (Holkar Stadium)	1:30 PM
3	3rd ODI	Jan 9, 2027	Thiruvananthapuram (Greenfield)	1:30 PM
4	1st T20I	Jan 12, 2027	Ranchi (JSCA International)	7:00 PM
5	2nd T20I	Jan 14, 2027	Lucknow (Ekana)	7:00 PM
6	3rd T20I	Jan 16, 2027	Rajkot (Niranjan Shah Stadium)	7:00 PM

A few notes on the calendar:

• Why January? The window opens after the Sri Lanka series ends (early January) and closes before the BGT 2027 begins (Jan 21 at Nagpur). The BCCI typically slots second-tier white-ball series into this gap because it leaves the marquee Test calendar untouched.
• ODI leg first: This is the audition window that matters. The three ODIs are part of India's build to the 2027 ODI World Cup; the T20I leg is more about workload management and rotation.
• No Tests: Zimbabwe and India do not have Test fixtures in this cycle.

---

Likely venues

ODI venues: Kolkata, Indore, Thiruvananthapuram

The three-ODI leg is most likely spread across Kolkata, Indore and Thiruvananthapuram. Eden Gardens on January 3 is the only confirmed venue.

Eden Gardens in early January plays as a high-scoring ODI surface — pleasant evening conditions, dew under lights, a quality batting wicket. Par ODI score 290-310. Indore's Holkar Stadium is a flat batting venue with short boundaries; ODIs at Indore tend to produce 320+ scores. Thiruvananthapuram's Greenfield Stadium is one of India's newer international venues — coastal, slightly slower than the headline batting grounds, and worth watching for India to use as a fringe-bowling test.

Other ODI venues in the conversation include Cuttack, Raipur and Visakhapatnam.

T20I venues: Ranchi, Lucknow, Rajkot

The three-T20I leg is most likely played at Ranchi, Lucknow and Rajkot. JSCA Stadium in Ranchi is one of the newer T20I venues with a balanced surface. Lucknow's Ekana has been a regular T20I host since 2023, with a slightly slower surface than the high-scoring stereotypes. Rajkot's Niranjan Shah Stadium is a classic T20I batting venue — short boundaries, flat pitch, par scores 200+.

---

How to watch

In India, the entire Zimbabwe series will be live on the Star Sports network on television (English and Hindi commentary) and on Disney+ Hotstar for digital streaming. Regional language feeds (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Malayalam) will be available on Star's regional sub-channels.

For international viewers:

• Zimbabwe: ZBC TV (Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation) and SuperSport (regional)
• United Kingdom: Sky Sports Cricket (subject to rights deal)
• United States and Canada: Willow TV / Willow by Cricbuzz
• Australia and New Zealand: Fox Cricket / Sky NZ
• South Africa: SuperSport
• Middle East and rest of the world: Star Sports international feed

If you are a digital-only viewer in India, the standard Disney+ Hotstar Premium subscription carries every ball, in HD, with multi-language commentary.

---

Head-to-head record

Here is the white-ball head-to-head between India and Zimbabwe, accurate to the start of the 2027 series:

Format	Played	India won	Zimbabwe won	Drawn / NR / Tied
ODIs (all-time)	~65	~52	~10	~3
T20Is (all-time)	~14	~12	~2	0

The all-time numbers are overwhelmingly India's. Zimbabwe's last bilateral series win against India was the 1980s. Their most recent ODI win was in August 2022 in Harare — a 13-run upset that briefly disrupted what was otherwise a clean sweep. Their last T20I win against India came in the 2024 series in Harare, when a young India side touring under VVS Laxman was beaten 4-1 — though India recovered to win the white-ball follow-ups since.

That 2024 series in Harare is the relevant context for the 2027 fixture: India fielded a fringe XI (Shubman Gill captained), and Zimbabwe took advantage. The 2027 home series will likely also feature a fringe Indian XI. The question is whether Zimbabwe can replicate that result with the conditions reversed.

---

Zimbabwe's squad and the Sikandar Raza era

Sikandar Raza is the spine of Zimbabwe cricket. By January 2027, he is in the back third of his career — but still the most influential white-ball figure in the squad and likely the captain across both formats.

The core to watch:

• Sikandar Raza (captain, all-rounder) — middle-order anchor, off-spin all-rounder, the most marketable Zimbabwe cricketer globally
• Sean Williams — the senior batter; one of Zimbabwe's most experienced left-handers
• Craig Ervine — middle-order, the calm presence
• Brian Bennett — the young top-order opener; T20 league pedigree
• Wessly Madhevere — all-rounder who's grown into a settled XI member
• Blessing Muzarabani — the pace spearhead
• Richard Ngarava — left-arm pace, useful against right-hand top orders

The Zimbabwe side is genuinely competitive in white-ball cricket — they qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup, and the IPL exposure of Raza and Bennett has lifted both their batting and the squad's overall confidence.

---

India squad watch — the fringe-XI audition

This is the central reason the Zimbabwe series matters. With BGT 2027 starting on January 21 (and the marquee Test squad locked in for that), the BCCI is likely to use the Zimbabwe ODIs and T20Is as a dedicated audition window for the layer of squad below the established white-ball XI.

ODI squad (likely fringe XI)

• Top order: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (likely captain)
• Middle order: Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk) or Rishabh Pant, Rinku Singh
• All-rounders: Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Hardik Pandya (managed)
• Spin: Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi
• Pace: Mohammed Siraj (managed), Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

The ODI squad is, in essence, the Asia Cup 2027 audition group with workload-managed seniors mixed in. Watch for the Tilak Varma at four / five slot, Riyan Parag's position in the order, and the Sai Sudharsan opening experiment.

T20I squad (likely)

By January 2027, Suryakumar Yadav is the established long-form T20I captain. The T20I squad against Zimbabwe is likely to be a similar fringe-XI exercise:

• Top order: Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jitesh Sharma (wk)
• Middle order: Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag
• All-rounders: Hardik Pandya (managed), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel
• Pace and spin: Mayank Yadav (managed), Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi

Suryakumar Yadav himself may be rested for one or two of the T20Is — by January 2027, the T20I XI is settled enough that the bilateral series window is treated as rotation-friendly.

---

The four storylines we are tracking

1. The 2027 ODI World Cup audition

The 2027 ODI World Cup is hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October-November 2027. The Zimbabwe series in January is one of the few fringe-XI audition windows India have before the squad is finalised. Watch for Tilak Varma, Sai Sudharsan, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal in the ODI XI — and watch for the BCCI's messaging on the Asia Cup 2027 squad announcement (expected June-July 2027).

2. Sikandar Raza's last Indian audience?

Raza turns 41 in 2027. Even his most optimistic supporters accept that his ODI career is unlikely to extend much beyond the 2027 World Cup. The series in India is likely his last full-length bilateral on Indian soil with a packed broadcast audience. A standout series — say, two fifty-plus scores and a five-wicket haul across the six matches — would be the kind of farewell innings he deserves.

3. The fringe-XI experiment vs the BGT prep

The BGT 2027 starts on January 21 (Nagpur). The Zimbabwe series ends on January 16. That leaves a five-day gap between fringe-XI white-ball cricket and the most consequential Test series of the year. Watch for the Test squad players who do not feature in the Zimbabwe XIs — that is the cleanest signal of who is being rested for BGT.

4. The Eden Gardens fixture

The first ODI on January 3, 2027 at Eden Gardens is the headline of the tour. The Calcutta crowd is one of the most engaged in world cricket; an Eden Gardens ODI in early January with a fringe Indian XI is the kind of fixture that produces unexpected stars. Watch the player who scores a century at Eden in this match — they will likely be on the Asia Cup squad.

---

What to expect from the conditions

• Kolkata in early January: Cool (12-22°C), low dew, pleasant evening conditions. Eden ODI par score 280-300.
• Indore in early January: Cool (10-20°C), flat batting surface, short boundaries. ODI par score 320+.
• Thiruvananthapuram in mid-January: Coastal, mild (24-28°C), slightly slower surface. ODI par score 270-290.
• Ranchi in mid-January: Cool (10-22°C), balanced T20I surface. T20I par score 175-185.
• Lucknow in mid-January: Cool to cold (8-22°C), slightly slower T20I surface. T20I par score 170-180.
• Rajkot in mid-January: Mild (15-25°C), short boundaries, flat pitch. T20I par score 200+.

For a refresher on the wider 2026-27 playing rules — the stop clock, the boundary-catch tweak, the ODI two-ball reversal — see our breakdown of the ICC 2026 playing conditions.

---

Tickets and on-ground info

Ticket sales for the Eden Gardens ODI on January 3 are expected to open in late November / early December 2026 via the host association's ticketing partner (typically BookMyShow). For Eden ODIs, expect prices to start around ₹500 (general stand) and run to ₹5,000+ (premium boxes). The early-January slot, with pleasant weather and the New Year window, typically draws strong crowds even for non-marquee opponents.

For the T20I leg, ticket prices typically start at ₹1,000 with premium tiers running higher.

Key tips:

• Buy through the official portal announced by the host association.
• Photo ID matching the booking name is required at the gate.
• Each venue has a published prohibited-items list.

---

Why this tour matters

For Indian fans, a Zimbabwe series might look like a side-fixture between the Sri Lanka tour and the BGT. That misreads the moment. With the 2027 ODI World Cup six months away and the Asia Cup 2027 squad announcement seven months away, the Zimbabwe ODIs are one of the cleanest data points the BCCI selectors have on the fringe XI. A century from Tilak Varma, a five-wicket haul from Riyan Parag, a 90 from Sai Sudharsan — any of these performances meaningfully changes who is on the World Cup squad.

For Zimbabwe, this is a high-profile bilateral in a calendar that does not always offer them one. A competitive series — even a 2-1 ODI loss — is a meaningful contribution to their World Cup build. And for Sikandar Raza specifically, this might be the closing Indian chapter of one of the most respected captaincies in world cricket.

Bookmark this hub. Match-by-match previews, pitch reports, playing XIs and post-match analysis will roll through the January window.

---

Quick links

• Master home season hub: India cricket home season 2026-27 complete schedule
• Previous tour (closes year-end): Sri Lanka tour of India 2026 schedule
• Test series immediately after: Australia tour of India 2027 — Border-Gavaskar Trophy
• WI tour earlier in the season: West Indies tour of India 2026

For more cricket previews, see our domestic cricket category.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the Zimbabwe tour of India 2027 start? The tour begins on January 3, 2027 with the 1st ODI at Eden Gardens in Kolkata — currently the only confirmed fixture. The remaining matches (two further ODIs and three T20Is) are provisionally scheduled through to mid-January 2027, subject to formal BCCI announcement.

How many matches are Zimbabwe playing in India in 2027? The provisional schedule is 3 ODIs + 3 T20Is — six matches across roughly two weeks. The exact format split is subject to BCCI announcement.

Is this tour an India fringe-XI audition window? Yes. With the BGT 2027 starting on January 21 (and the marquee Test squad locked for that), the Zimbabwe series is being treated by the BCCI selectors as the cleanest audition window for fringe ODI players ahead of the Asia Cup 2027 and the 2027 ODI World Cup. Expect Tilak Varma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Rinku Singh and Riyan Parag in the XI.

Where can I watch India vs Zimbabwe 2027 live? In India, every match will be live on the Star Sports network (TV) and Disney+ Hotstar (digital), with regional language commentary on Star's sub-channels. International viewers can watch via ZBC TV (Zimbabwe), Sky Sports (UK), Willow TV (US/Canada), Fox Cricket (Australia) and SuperSport (South Africa).

Will Sikandar Raza play the entire series? That is the expectation. Raza is Zimbabwe's captain across both formats and remains their most influential white-ball cricketer. Subject to fitness, he will play all six matches. We will update this hub when squads are announced.

---

A short tour, a fringe-XI audition, a Sikandar Raza farewell window. The Zimbabwe series in January 2027 may not be the marquee fixture of the home season — but it is where India's 2027 World Cup squad starts being chosen.