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Key Takeaways
- 1📊 Squad: Suryakumar (C), Axar (VC), Bumrah & co.
- 2🏆 Iyer for first 3 T20Is, Bishnoi for all 5
- 3💡 Sundar out with side strain, Tilak partial miss
- 4🔮 T20WC 2026 prep: India vs USA on Feb 7
"Shreyas replaces the injured Tilak Varma for first three games; Bishnoi comes in for Washington Sundar for the entire series"
Team India receives a timely lift with Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi added to the T20I squad for the home series against New Zealand, starting January 21. Iyer slots in for the first three games replacing injured Tilak Varma, while Bishnoi covers Washington Sundar, out of all five with a side strain.
Injury Hits Before T20WC Buzz
Sundar's scans confirmed the setback, sending him to BCCI's Bengaluru Centre for rehab. Tilak should return later, but these blows come weeks before the T20 World Cup 2026 opener. Suryakumar Yadav leads the revamped side: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ishan Kishan (WK).
Iyer's middle-order solidity and Bishnoi's leg-spin guile add depth, perfect prep for subcontinent conditions mirroring the World Cup in India-Sri Lanka. With Bumrah spearheading, India eyes a clean sweep to build momentum. Fans are hyped – can the Men in Blue fine-tune before facing USA in the Feb 7 opener?
This series is gold for World Cup seeding. India dominates.
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