New Zealand Cricket will don a special limited-edition Kotahitanga ODI Shirt during the upcoming ODI series against India, commemorating 100 years of sporting ties between the two nations. The jersey, unveiled ahead of the India tour of New Zealand beginning 22 October, blends Māori and Indian artistic traditions in a rare cross-cultural design collaboration.

The Design and Its Creators

Three artists worked in tandem to bring the shirt to life: Ben Thomason (Ngāti Raukawa ki Te Tonga), Shiv Narandas (Gujarat), and Jai Pancha (Gujarat). Their brief was unity — and the result weaves together distinct artistic vocabularies from each culture into a single cohesive garment.

Thomason incorporated traditional Māori kōwhaiwhai patterns over a background of haehae lines — motifs that connect the living with those who have passed, honouring the people who helped build the bilateral relationship. Narandas and Pancha introduced three Indian motifs: the lotus (India's national flower), a repeating ogee pattern inspired by Indian architecture, and the mandala, whose symmetrical framework aligns naturally with Māori design systems.

What the Name Means

'Kotahitanga' is a Māori word representing unity — and Thomason said it was the guiding principle throughout the design process. 'The brief said unity and I think the design encompasses that wholeheartedly,' he said. For Narandas, whose family originates from India, the project carried personal weight: 'This shirt feels like a journey of our life here. I hope that everyone can feel the energy that's been put into this project and they can wear the shirt with pride,' he said.

What New Zealand Cricket Said

Glenn Critchley, Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer at New Zealand Cricket (NZC), described the jersey as a celebration of sport's power to bridge cultures. 'We're absolutely wrapped with the design. The artists have created a beautiful balance between a distinct Māori design and a distinct Indian design that speaks to the bond between our nations. Sport underpins the unity between New Zealand and India and we hope this shirt will be a collector's item treasured by New Zealand and Indian cricket fans for years to come,' Critchley said.

Series Schedule and Wider Context

The India tour of New Zealand is scheduled to begin on 22 October. The Kotahitanga shirt will be worn during the ODI leg of the series — making this one of the more visible cultural gestures in bilateral cricket history. Notably, special-edition jerseys of this nature are rare in cricket, where kit designs tend to be standardised; the initiative places the New Zealand-India sporting relationship in a broader cultural frame that goes well beyond the boundary rope.