Mumbai, Jan 16 (.) India’s cricket team has added Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi to the T20I squad for the upcoming home series against New Zealand, officials confirmed on Friday.
Shreyas Iyer will feature in the first three T20Is scheduled on January 21, 23, and 25, replacing Tilak Varma, who is expected to miss the initial matches.
Ravi Bishnoi has been included as a replacement for Washington Sundar, who has been ruled out of all five matches following a side strain detected in recent scans. Sundar has been advised rest before reporting to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru for further management.
These squad changes come just weeks ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be held at home and in Sri Lanka.
Shreyas returns to the T20I fold for the first time since December 2023, when he last played against Australia in Bengaluru. He enjoyed a prolific IPL season in 2025, scoring 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07 and leading Punjab Kings to the final.
Bishnoi, who has played 42 T20Is and picked up 61 wickets, last appeared in the format in January 2025 at home against England.
India’s updated T20I squad for the New Zealand series reads: Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (first three T20Is), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (Vice-Captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper), Ravi Bishnoi.
. . .