The countdown for T20 World Cup 2026 officially begins for the Indian team with the five-match series against New Zealand starting on Wednesday (January 21). These five games will be the final leg of preparation for the tournament co-hosts with the final fixture of the series coinciding with ICC's deadline for making squad alterations.
Currently, two of India's World Cup squad members are out injured - Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar - and their replacements for the series are Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi respectively. While Iyer has been named for the first three games alone, Bishnoi is set to play all five games. There were speculations about Iyer's T20I comeback but Suryakumar Yadav has ruled that out for the first T20I at least.
Speaking at the press conference on match day eve, Suryakumar revealed that Ishan Kishan would be taking Varma's spot in the playing XI ahead of Iyer. While public emotion is strongly behind Iyer who made the T20I squad after a long gap, cricketing logic supports Kishan's selection in the starting XI.
Why Kishan and not Iyer?
Firstly, Kishan for Varma is a like-for-like replacement as both are left-hand batters. While Kishan's runs in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy came as opener, he has shown himself to be flexible anywhere in the top four during his IPL stints. While he is a different kind of batter to Varma, Kishan's presence gives the left-right combination that Gautam Gambhir is very fond of.
The other major reason is that Kishan is already part of India's World Cup squad while Iyer isn't. The latter can only make it to the squad if Varma continues to be unfit for selection. For now, Varma hasn't been ruled out of the final two games of the New Zealand series, meaning that the selectors for now are expecting Varma to be back. Hence, Iyer is being considered only as a standby option at the moment.
What does this mean for Sanju Samson?
Meanwhile, Kishan's presence in the starting XI will also mean pressure on Samson. While the Kerala batter merited his selection in the squad and starting XI as opener, his returns in 2025 were underwhelming. Of course, it didn't help Samson's cause that he had to bat at different spots in the batting order.
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However, all that is a thing of the past and Samson is now back in the squad. The 31-year-old will have to show his class in the first three games of the series because if he doesn't, he could be under pressure. Especially if Kishan gets big scores during the same time. Then, if Varma returns fit, Samson may end up having to make way for Kishan.
Given how a vice-captain in Shubman Gill found himself entirely out of the squad, anything is possible with the way India's think tank is functioning. Yes, Samson will be backed but Kishan's presence is a serious threat to the former's spot. Healthy competition no doubt but interesting times ahead.
