The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on January 16, 2026, named the replacement players for the injured duo of Washington Sundar and Tilak Varma for the upcoming five-match T20I series between India and New Zealand.

The five-match series, which will be India’s last bilateral assignment before the T20 World Cup 2026, will begin on January 21 in Nagpur. The second T20I will be played on January 23 in Raipur, and the third T20I will be played in Guwahati on January 25.

The last two T20Is will be played on January 28 in Vishakhapatnam and January 31 in Thiruvananthapuram.

Ahead of the series, India has lost the services of Washington Sundar, who suffered a rib injury in the recent second ODI between India and New Zealand that was played in Rajkot.

“Washington Sundar underwent scans after reporting an acute onset of discomfort in his lower rib area while bowling during the first ODI against New Zealand at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara, on 11 January. This was followed by an in-person consultation with an expert.

He has been diagnosed with a side strain and has been advised to rest for a few days, following which he will report to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) for further management of his injury. The all-rounder has been ruled out of the upcoming IDFC First Bank T20I series against New Zealand,” the BCCI statement read. 

The BCCI has named right-arm leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi as his replacement for the T20I series. The former world no.1 T20I bowler has played 42 matches in the shortest format for India and has taken 61 wickets at an economy of 7.35 and best bowling figures of 4/13.

Bishnoi last played for India in a T20I against England in Mumbai in February 2025.

The BCCI also announced that Shreyas Iyer has been added to the Indian squad for the first three T20Is as a replacement for Tilak Varma. Varma has undergone surgery after suffering a testicular torsion in a recent Vijay Hazare Trophy match for Hyderabad.

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