Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi added to India’s squad for T20I series against New Zealand

Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi were, on Friday, added to India’s squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand.

While Shreyas was named as Tilak Varma’s replacement for the first three matches of the series, leg-spinner Bishnoi replaced all-rounder Washington Sundar in the squad.

Tilak underwent surgery for an abdominal issue earlier this month and will miss the first three games of the T20I series against the Kiwis. “His availability for the remaining two matches will be assessed based on his progress during the return-to-training and skill phases,” a BCCI press release stated.

Meanwhile, Washington was ruled out of the T20Is against the Kiwis after suffering a side strain during the first ODI against the same opposition. The injury forced the spin-bowling all-rounder to miss the second ODI and was replaced in the squad by Ayush Badoni for the rest of the 50-over series.

“Washington Sundar underwent scans after reporting an acute onset of discomfort in his lower rib area while bowling during the first ODI against New Zealand at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara, on 11 January. This was followed by an in-person consultation with an expert. He has been diagnosed with a side strain and has been advised rest for a few days, following which he will report to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) for further management of his injury,” the BCCI said in a media advisory issued on Friday.

Shreyas and Bishnoi have returned to India’s T20I setup after spending a significant amount of time on the sidelines. Shreyas, who led Punjab Kings to the Indian Premier League (IPL) final last year, last played a T20I more than two years ago, in December 2023 against Australia. Bishnoi featured in India’s home series against England last year but hasn’t been picked since in the shortest format.

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.

Published on Jan 16, 2026