Associate Minister for Sport and Recreation Chris Bishop is visiting India as part of the government’s initiative for sports diplomacy with countries, where he will attend the highly anticipated ICC T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
“The Minister will visit Ahmedabad, New Delhi and Mumbai – in the latter two cities he’ll be accompanied by a delegation of sporting code leaders from across New Zealand,” a spokesperson for Bishop told The Indian Weekender.
“The Minister will also be attending the India vs New Zealand T20 World Cup Final, which he is very excited about.”
The 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final is set for 8 March 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India. The match is scheduled to be held on Monday, 9 March.
New Zealand will co-host the next ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2028 with Australia, an event expected to be the country’s next major global sporting showcase following the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
During his visit, Bishop will also meet senior officials from the International Cricket Council (ICC) as well as administrators and organisers involved in the 2028 tournament.
Across the three cities, the minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with Indian ministerial counterparts, meet infrastructure providers, national sport administrators and high-performance sport innovators, host an event at the New Zealand High Commission in India celebrating the two countries’ shared sporting history, and visit a secondary school to highlight the role of sport in education.
The visit aligns with New Zealand’s Sport Diplomacy Strategy, released in September 2025, which aims to leverage the country’s strong sporting reputation to strengthen international connections, support the government’s goal of doubling exports over the next decade, and deepen ties with countries around the world.
“The Minister will be building on the Prime Minister’s successful trade mission to India last year which saw the signing of an agreement between the two countries to collaborate in sport – particularly high-performance sport,” the spokesperson said.
The year 2026 also marks a century since the first Indian sports team (hockey), toured New Zealand.
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