Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi have been added in India's T20I squad against New Zealand
Shreyas Iyer is roped in for the first three T20Is only
The first match of the T20I series will be played in Nagpur on January 21
An unforeseen spate of injuries to Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar has prompted the Indian management to make two changes in the T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series against New Zealand starting from January 21, 2026.
Indian ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer has been roped in for the first three T20Is on January 21, 23, and 25 in place of Tilak Varma, who's expected to miss only the first three matches against New Zealand.
Ravi Bishnoi, meanwhile, is raked in for the injured all-rounder Washington Sundar, who picked up a side strain during the on-going ODI series against New Zealand and will remain with the Indian team for the entirety of the T20I series.
India's Updated T20I squad for New Zealand Series
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
While India have already announced their squad for the upcoming T20I World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, this call-up comes as a beacon of hope for both the players, especially Shreyas Iyer.
Iyer has been recalled for Tilak Varma, who recently underwent an emergency surgery for Testicular Torsion. While he is expected to join the Indian team for the last two matches of the New Zealand series, there are speculations that he might not recover in time for the World Cup, and if that happens, then Shreyas Iyer has a really good chance to make a lateral entry into India's World Cup squad.
