India, Oct. 21 -- In June, Shreyas Iyer began a captaincy journey that took him from Ireland to England, Zimbabwe to India, and then Japan before another round of cricket brought him back home. Afghanistan played them in Delhi, before the West Indies series took them on a quick tour of the country, and now India's T20 squad is in New Zealand for another assignment in a calendar that has offered little time to pause, let alone settle.

Less than 72 hours after landing in New Zealand, India are preparing for their first T20I, facing the familiar questions about jet lag, unfamiliar pitches and the challenge of adapting to conditions that have traditionally favoured seam bowling. For a team that has crossed borders almost continuously since t...