India will be hosting the West Indies for three ODIs and five T20Is in September-October 2026. The West Indies had previously visited India for two tests this year and now will play a white-ball series.
The first T20I will be played in Lucknow on October 6; the second T20I will be played on October 9 in Ranchi, and the third T20I will be played on October 11 in Indore. The last two T20Is will be played on October 14 and October 17 in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, respectively.
This is a very crucial T20I series for Indian players, as they need to perform to hold onto their spots in the XI, given the wide range of options BCCI selectors have and the fact that there is a lot of talent waiting in the wings. So today, we see 3 players from the Indian side, who need a big T20I series against the West Indies.
Here are the 3 Indian players who need a big T20I series:
3. Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson has come back well after the poor outing in Ireland and England and getting dropped from the Zimbabwe T20Is. He made two fifties against Afghanistan recently and is expected to do well in the Asian Games as well. Samson has a tendency to blow hot and cold, but with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi breathing down his neck, Samson knows that he needs to score big runs to continue keeping his spot in the Indian team.
2. Tilak Varma
Tilak Varma has scored 1666 runs in 63 T20Is for India with a strike rate of 143.74, including 2 centuries and 9 fifties. However, for the past few matches, Tilak has been coasting through without meaningful contributions. He didn’t have much to do against Afghanistan and the one-off game against Japan. He was promoted to the Indian team vice-captain’s job recently, but his bat has been silent. He was asked to bat at no. 3 but couldn’t handle spin well, while his best comes at no. 5 when he faces pace. However, with him needing some balls to get into rhythm, this hinders the pace of the innings. Tilak will need a couple of big games against the West Indies if he wants to keep his vice-captaincy and spot in the Indian team.
1. Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar is one player that the Indian team management rates very high. He is a first-choice player in all three formats for India and is someone who is being groomed for the future. But his T20I numbers are not saying the same story. He has 53 wickets and 279 runs in 63 T20Is for India and, despite batting down the order, hasn’t shown the finishing skills needed for the job. Even with the ball, he is not the wicket-taking option but keeps the runs down and is very injury prone. Still, he manages to keep out the likes of Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian out of Indian contention due to the backing of bigwigs.
