Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi drafted into India T20I squad as Washington Sundar and Tilak Varma miss series

Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi (PTI)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that all-rounder Washington Sundar will miss the upcoming IDFC First Bank T20I series against New Zealand due to a side strain. Sundar experienced acute discomfort in his lower rib area while bowling during the first ODI at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara, on 11 January. Following scans and an in-person consultation with a medical expert, he has been advised to rest for a few days and will report to the BCCI Centre of Excellence for further assessment and rehabilitation. To fill the vacancy, the Men’s Selection Committee has named leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi as Sundar’s replacement in the T20I squad. Bishnoi has played 42 T20Is, taking 61 wickets with best figures of 4/13. He has maintained a strike rate of 15.8 and an economy of 7.35. Additionally, Shreyas Iyer has been added to the squad for the first three T20Is in place of Tilak Varma, who is recovering from an abdominal injury.

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Shreyas Iyer has played 51 T20Is, batting in 47 innings and scoring 1,104 runs at an average of 30.67. He has a strike rate of 136.13, with a highest score of 90 and eight half-centuries to his name. Iyer played 17 matches for Punjab Kings in IPL 2025, scoring 604 runs at an average of 50.33 with a strike rate of 175.07. He hit six half-centuries and led the team to their first IPL final since 2014. 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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