Latest update on Team India players ahead of Ranji and NZ T20I series
With the 2026 T20 World Cup approaching, some Team India regulars will be seen in domestic cricket in the Ranji Trophy, while some have been added to the squad that will face New Zealand in 5 T20Is starting Jan 21.
Ravindra Jadeja is expected to turn out for Saurashtra in their next Ranji Trophy match against Punjab in Rajkot, starting January 22. There are also strong chances that Shubman Gill could feature in the same game.
The news came right after India’s ODI series against New Zealand ended in Indore, which Team India lost 2-1. Gill is expected to travel to Rajkot, with a final call likely in the next couple of days.
If both players are available, they will travel back to Rajkot from Indore, having moved in the opposite direction after the second ODI.
Saurashtra sit fourth in Elite Group B with 1 win and 4 draws from 5 matches. Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are placed above them. Punjab are sixth, with 1 win and 1 loss from 5 games.
Gill, India’s captain in Tests and ODIs, has not played a Ranji Trophy match this season. His last appearance in the tournament came against Karnataka last year. Jadeja has featured once this season, playing against Madhya Pradesh.
Both Saurashtra and Punjab have one league match left after this fixture. With no immediate international commitments, it remains unclear if Gill and Jadeja will play the final round as well. Gill has not been selected in India’s T20 World Cup squad. Jadeja retired from T20Is after the 2024 T20 World Cup, the same time Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli retired.
Iyer & Bishnoi added to Team India squad
Team India have added Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi to the T20I squad for the home series against New Zealand.
Shreyas has been included for the first 3 T20Is on January 21, 23 and 25, replacing Tilak Varma. Bishnoi comes in as a replacement for Washington Sundar.
Tilak is expected to miss only the opening 3 matches. Washington, however, will miss all 5 T20Is after scans revealed a side strain. He has been advised to rest before reporting to the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru for further treatment.
These injury concerns arrive less than a month before the Men’s T20 World Cup starting February 7th, to be played in India and Sri Lanka.
Shreyas returns to Team India’s T20I setup for the first time since December 2023, when he last played against Australia in Bengaluru.
He got injured in October 2025 in an ODI against Australia and made his injury return in the ODIs against New Zealand. He enjoyed a strong IPL 2025 season, scoring 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07 and also led Punjab Kings to the final.
Bishnoi last played a T20I in January 2025 against England at home. He has featured in 42 T20Is, picking up 61 wickets.
India’s updated T20I squad vs NZ:
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, Tilak Varma (last two T20Is)