India release Washington Sundar for Ranji Trophy duty and call up Naman Dhir for the T20Is

India have withdrawn Washington Sundar from their Twenty20 squad for the West Indies series and pointed him towards the Ranji Trophy, with Naman Dhir called up in his place

The BCCI confirmed the change on 1 October, naming Dhir in the 15-man squad led by Shreyas Iyer for the five-match series that begins in Lucknow on 6 October.

The board said Sundar had been released in view of India's forthcoming Test series against New Zealand, and that he would return to red-ball cricket for Tamil Nadu in a Ranji Trophy season that starts on 11 October.

The same release ruled Prasidh Krishna out of Saturday's third one-day international against West Indies with a left hamstring injury picked up in Guwahati, with Anshul Kamboj added to the one-day squad.

A red-ball window before New Zealand

India's tour of New Zealand runs from 22 October to 1 December and carries five T20Is, five one-day internationals and two Tests, the largest bilateral men's series New Zealand has staged.

The Tests close it, at the Basin Reserve in Wellington from 19 to 23 November and at Hagley Oval in Christchurch from 27 November to 1 December. It is India's first Test tour of the country since 2019-20.

Playing the full West Indies T20I series would have carried Sundar through to 17 October and left him without a first-class match before that assignment. Tamil Nadu open their Ranji campaign against Rajasthan from 11 to 14 October.

What Sundar offers a Test side

The off-spinning all-rounder has played 17 Tests for 885 runs at an average of 42.14, a markedly better return than his white-ball batting, along with 36 wickets.

His best figures of 7-59 and his only ten-wicket match both came against New Zealand in Pune in October 2024, which gives the selectors a plain reason to want him in rhythm by November.

He has not played a Test since 22 November 2025 against South Africa, and was named among Tamil Nadu's 30 Ranji probables in August while recovering from injury.

Dhir made his case in September

Dhir's call-up follows a Sher-e-Punjab T20 League in which he scored 655 runs in 10 matches at an average of 72.78 and a strike rate of 217.61.

The peak came on 8 September, when he opened for Amritsar Soormas against Mohali Kings and made 173 from 64 balls with 16 fours and 12 sixes, carrying his side to 279 for 7.

Amritsar won by 67 runs and Dhir, who also took two wickets, was named player of the match. The innings finished two runs short of Chris Gayle's 175 not out, the highest individual score in all Twenty20 cricket.

An India cap already this fortnight

The 26-year-old Punjab all-rounder is not a stranger to the group. He made his one-day debut at Thiruvananthapuram on 27 September, taking his first India cap from Shubman Gill before the toss.

He had 14 List A appearances behind him at that point, with 351 runs from 11 innings, a best of 97 and seven wickets.

His reputation was built in the Indian Premier League, where he has been with Mumbai Indians since 2024 and has made 710 runs in 37 matches, 318 of them in 14 games last season. The West Indies series will bring his first T20I selection.

A squad occupied elsewhere

Iyer leads a side with Tilak Varma as his deputy, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson as the wicketkeepers, and Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav and Mayank Yadav among the bowlers.

Several of them were busy on Saturday, when India posted 211 for 6 against Pakistan in the Asian Games gold-medal match at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin.

From there the squad moves to Lucknow, Ranchi, Indore, Hyderabad and Bengaluru between 6 and 17 October, with the Indore and Hyderabad fixtures falling inside the same window as the opening Ranji round.

India begin the five-match Twenty20 series against West Indies at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on 6 October.

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