Mumbai: The Indian squad, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, left early Thursday morning for New Zealand on a 47-day tour comprising two Twenty20 Internationals, five One-Day Internationals and three Test matches.

The squad for the limited overs events departed while the members of the Test team, who are not part of the T20 and ODIs squads, would leave later.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten believe the team's balance will ensure it remains competitive on the tour of New Zealand, regardless of the conditions. India's batsmen failed to adapt to the wet, seamer-friendly conditions on the last tour in 2002-03 and lost the Tests 2-0 and the ODIs 5-2 - the biggest blip on their overseas record since the turn of the century.