IND vs NZ: After how many years did Shreyas Iyer return to Indian T20I team?
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Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi replaced Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar for the upcoming IND vs NZ T20I series.
Indian batter Shreyas Iyer made a return to the ODI team after recovering from a spleen injury that he sustained in the ODI series against Australia. He underwent a surgery that kept him out of the white-ball series against South Africa.
Iyer, after his rehab at CoE, was added to the Indian squad for the ODI series against New Zealand. He made a terrific comeback in the first ODI, scoring 49 off 47, playing his part in India’s four-wicket win in Vadodara. In the second ODI, he scored just 8 as the Black Caps chased down 285-run target to level the series.
He will return to action when India take on New Zealand in the third ODI in Indore on Sunday, which is also the decider. Iyer is back at his usual number four position and his performance will be key if India are to win the decider on Sunday.
Shreyas Iyer to return after two years in T20Is for India
On the back of his ODI performances and heroics in Indian Premier League (IPL), Shreyas Iyer also earned his call-up in T20Is as he was named in the squad for the first three T20Is against the Kiwis, starting from January 21. He will be replacing Tilak Varma, who was diagnosed with testicular torsion and was advised to undergo an immediate surgery.
It also meant that the southpaw was ruled out for the next three to four weeks and could possibly miss the T20 World Cup 2026 as well. As of now, Tilak is not a part of the first three T20Is against New Zealand and Iyer has replaced him in the squad.
Shreyas Iyer has been recalled to the Indian T20I side after more than a two-year gap. His last T20I was against Australia in December 2023. He scored a half-century in India’s six-run win against Australia as the Suryakumar Yadav-led side defended 160 runs to win the game by six runs.
Overall, the Indian batter has played 51 T20Is till date, scoring 1104 runs with eight fifties. He scored his runs at a strike rate of over 136 and has an average of 30.66. A good performance in the T20 series against the New Zealand might earn him a call in India’s T20 World Cup squad, with questions still over Tilak’s fitness.
The T20I series begins from January 21 in Nagpur, followed by the next four T20Is on January 23, 25, 28 and 31 respectively. Raipur, Guwahati, Vizag and Thiruvananthapuram are the venues for the final four games.
Who did Shreyas Iyer replace in India’s T20I side against New Zealand?
Shreyas Iyer replaced Tilak Varma for the first three T20Is against New Zealand.
What is India’s squad for the T20I series against New Zealand?
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
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Anshuman Roy is a senior cricket journalist with nearly a decade of experience covering the game. His love for cricket began in childhood, playing at school and college level before turning that passion into a profession. Over the years, he has written for several reputed media houses and specialises in news, features, previews, reviews, match reports, and opinion pieces.