Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi were added to India T20I squad to face New Zealand as spinner Washington Sundar was ruled out due to an injury, the BCCI said on Friday. Bishnoi was drafted in as a replacement for Washington while Iyer was included in place of the injured Tilak Varma and will play the first 3 matches against the Kiwis.
Sundar underwent scans after reporting an acute onset discomfort in his lower rib area while bowling during the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara on 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 statement said.
“The all-rounder has been ruled out of the upcoming IDFC First Bank T20I series against New Zealand. The Men’s Selection Committee has named Ravi Bishnoi as his replacement. The Men’s Selection Committee has also added Shreyas Iyer to the T20I squad for the first three matches as a replacement for the injured Tilak Varma,” it added.
🚨 News 🚨
Shreyas Iyer & Ravi Bishnoi added to #TeamIndia T20I squad; Washington Sundar ruled out.
Details ▶️ https://t.co/cNWHX9TOVk#INDvNZ | @IDFCFIRSTBank
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 16, 2026
Iyer last played a T20I match for India against Australia back in December 2023 while Bishnoi last represented the Men in Blue in February of last year against England.
Varma had suffered an abdomen injury while playing a Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier this month. He felt a pain in the abdomen after breakfast. “Tilak faced severe pain in his abdomen today (Wednesday). He was rushed to a hospital in Rajkot, where various scans were done, and reports were sent to doctors at the COE,” a source in the Indian board had confirmed to the Indian Express.
“Doctors have advised him to undergo surgery, which will take three to four week for him to recover. Chances of playing the entire T20I against New Zealand looks bleak,” he added. India would be more worried about his availability for the T20 World Cup that begins on February 7. India’s opening game, against the USA, is scheduled the same day,” the source had added.
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
