Just three days after winning the gold medal in the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, the Indian T20I team will be back in action 5000km away on Tuesday (October 6) as they play West Indies in the first of five T20Is between the two sides at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
Shreyas Iyer will continue leading the side but the line-up will see a few changes from the one that defeated arch-rivals Pakistan at the Karogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Saturday (October 3).
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is likely to benched after playing both the semi-final and final in the Asian Games as India are unlikely to play an extra batter in home conditions, which they opted to do at a specialist bowler in Arshdeep Singh’s expense on the tricky surfaces in Nagoya. Last month, head coach Gautam Gambhir made it clear that Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson will remain India’s first-choice opening pair.
With no Jasprit Bumrah in the squad, Arshdeep Singh will return to the line-up. Meanwhile, a spot for an extra pacer will open up, which will leave Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav competing for a spot. It appears that Mayank is ahead in the pecking order after not just making his debut two years ago but also impressing on his comeback in Zimbabwe earlier this year, which should earn him a place.
Kuldeep Yadav has been included in the T20I squad for the first time in the T20 World Cup and should slot into the playing XI in place of Ravi Bishnoi, whose performances have been criticised in recent times.
Meanwhile, Washington Sundar has been released from the T20I squad to focus on red-ball cricket, and his spot in the XI is likely to be taken up by Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was included in the ODI side and did not make the trip to Japan.
India Likely Playing XI vs West Indies: Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav.
India T20I squad vs West Indies: Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Naman Dhir