Shreyas Iyer is back in India’s T20I fold, as is Ravi Bishnoi. As reported earlier, Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand that starts in Nagpur on January 21.
Bishnoi, the leg-spinner, has replaced the off-spin-bowling all-rounder who suffered a rib injury during the first ODI of the ongoing series against the Kiwis in Vadodara. Shreyas has been added to the squad for the first three matches in place of the injured Tilak Varma.
“Washington Sundar underwent scans after reporting an acute onset discomfort in his lower rib area while bowling during the first ODI against New Zealand at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara, on 11 January,” stated the BCCI press release. “This was followed by an in-person consultation with an expert. He has been diagnosed with a side strain and advised rest for a few days, following which he will report to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) for further management of his injury.”
It added: “The all-rounder has been ruled out of the upcoming IDFC First Bank T20I series against New Zealand. The Men’s Selection Committee has named Ravi Bishnoi as his replacement. The Men’s Selection Committee has also added Shreyas Iyer to the T20I squad for the first three matches as a replacement for the injured Tilak Varma.”
Last week, Tilak underwent a procedure for an abdominal issue in Rajkot, where he was with the Hyderabad team for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The selectors initially didn’t name a replacement, as Ishan Kishan was the readily available option to bat at No. 3. But Shreyas’ inclusion suggests that the recovery might take a little longer than expected. The Mumbai batter’s last T20I was against Australia in December 2023.
As regards Bishnoi, his last game for India in the shortest format was in February 2025. Refreshingly, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has picked a specialist as Washington’s replacement instead of a bits and pieces all-rounder. The T20I side already has several multi-skilled cricketers. Ayush Badoni was brought in for the ongoing ODIs following Washington’s injury.
Both Tilak and Shreyas are in India’s T20 World Cup squad that commences on February 7. The team now has replacements ready in case they fail to make it.
India’s updated T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Shreyas Iyer (first three T20Is), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ravi Bishnoi.
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