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IND vs WI T20: Vaibhav Suryavanshi out, star player in for first match
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News18•05-10-2026, 18:43
IND vs WI T20: Vaibhav Suryavanshi out, star player in for first match
- •India is gearing up for a five-match T20 series against West Indies starting on Tuesday in Lucknow after winning the ODI series 2-1.
- •Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been rested, and Washington Sundar was dropped to focus on Test preparations, replaced by Naman Dhir.
- •Vaibhav Suryavanshi is likely to sit on the bench as India moves away from a spin-heavy strategy used in Japan to add fast bowler Arshdeep Singh.
- •Head coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed that the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson remains unchanged, keeping Vaibhav as a reserve.
- •Shreyas Iyer will captain the squad, with middle-order duties handled by Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, and Shivam Dube.
Key Questions Answered
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson will open the batting for India. Head coach Gautam Gambhir stated that this opening pair cannot be altered just to accommodate Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
India played with three spinners and a lone pacer in Japan due to favorable spin pitch conditions, using Vaibhav as an extra batter. However, playing with just one fast bowler on Indian pitches is unsuitable, so Vaibhav will be replaced by fast bowler Arshdeep Singh.
Washington Sundar was dropped from the squad at the last minute to focus on Test series preparations and was replaced by Naman Dhir.
