India will be touring New Zealand for five ODIs followed by two Tests which will be played at different venues across the country. The tour which will last for 30-days starts from 19 January 2014.
Sports and entertainment channel Sony Six has acquired the broadcast rights for India-New Zealand tour.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) CEO David White said, "We are delighted to partner with Sony Six for the series. India is home to the most passionate and dedicated cricket fans, and with Sony as partners for the series, we are assured to reach out to the fans in the best manner."
Sony Six Business Head Prasana Krishnan said, "We are delighted to have this series come our way early in the new year. Through this acquisition we will give our viewers direct action to one of the most awaited cricket series in 2014."
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has said that the pitches for the Auckland and Wellington Tests will be "sporting tracks".
NZ coach Mike Hesson has demanded for "green tops" in the upcoming home series against India.
The authorities however are keen to make pitches that should be challenging batsmen and bowlers alike not only in Tests but also for the preceding five-match one-day series.
A NZC official said, "The series against India is massive for New Zealand cricket. It will be a great challenge to face one of the best teams in the world at home. We certainly would not like to see the match getting over in two days. We got a bigger responsibility to produce good wickets,".
The official said to be fair to Hesson, his demand for bowler-friendly wickets stemmed from India's performance overseas in the last couple of years, a record of losing nine of their last 10 Tests. The last, tenth, Test was a draw.
"What if India win the toss and ask New Zealand to bat on a green top? Something like that could go against us. That is why we want wickets challenging both batsmen and bowlers. You also need to take into account that pitches look green here but the grass burns off quickly," the official said.
The official said the pitches in New Zealand offer variety and hoped rain wouldn't play spoilsport in the eagerly awaited battle.
"Every ground in New Zealand is different. You would usually find a dry and slow surface at Hamilton and then there are faster decks."
"Some 10-15 years ago you would only see green pitches in New Zealand, but nowadays the wicket standards have improved a lot, which makes us a better international team. We think New Zealand is good place to tour because of the environments and the pitches are fair."
"There is no point having very green wickets and a team is rolled out for 30 runs, when you are playing a lot of your cricket overseas."
Indian Team for ODI Series:
M.S. Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Ishwar Pandey, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron.
Indian Team for Test Series:
M.S. Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R. Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishwar Pandey.
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