Shreyas Iyer asks India to play fearlessly as the West Indies T20I series opens in Lucknow

India's T20I captain wants his players expressing themselves rather than guarding their places when the five-match series against West Indies begins in Lucknow on Tuesday

Shreyas Iyer has set the tone for his first home assignment as India's T20I captain by asking his players to trust their instincts, speaking on JioStar's Follow the Blues after leading India to a successful defence of their Asian Games cricket gold.

"We want players to be more liberal, more expressive in terms of being fearless out there and not restrict their instincts. Because when you curb your instincts, your natural abilities are not portrayed out there. So, I feel that we have to back ourselves more than what the expectations are from outside," Iyer said.

The series runs from 6 to 17 October and takes the side to Lucknow, Ranchi, Indore, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. It follows a one-day leg India won 2-1, a result secured before West Indies took the final match at New Chandigarh.

Backing instincts over outside expectation

Iyer's framing puts the emphasis on temperament rather than technique. His argument is that a player weighing external expectation stops playing the way he was picked to play.

It is a message aimed at a batting group that carries several players still establishing themselves in the format, among them Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who has been handed another opportunity at senior level as an aggressive opening option.

Iyer leads with Tilak Varma as his vice-captain, the pairing that was also in place for the Asian Games campaign.

Win first, experiment later

Asked how much the five matches would be used to try combinations, Iyer was direct about the order of priorities.

"The most important thing for me is to win the series, and then we can experiment with the playing combination. Experimenting from the start doesn't make sense because then the players also get insecure, and then they start questioning themselves, questioning others around the dressing room," he said.

The remark sets a clear expectation for the opening matches: a settled side first, and changes only once the series is safe.

A squad shaped by other commitments

Jasprit Bumrah does not feature, having been part of India's Asian Games group rather than the T20I squad, leaving the seam attack to Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav and Mayank Yadav.

The BCCI also withdrew Washington Sundar from the squad and named Naman Dhir as his replacement, a maiden T20I call-up for a player who made his ODI debut on this same tour.

Washington was released in view of the Test series against New Zealand, with the Ranji Trophy starting on 11 October giving him red-ball cricket for his state in between. Kuldeep Yadav returns to the T20I squad after missing recent assignments.

Iyer's long view on Sooryavanshi

Iyer spoke warmly about the teenager on the same programme, describing a contrast between the player off the field and on it.

"He's a very silent guy, but on the field, is very destructive. So, that's like an irony when you look at him," Iyer said, adding: "I know that his time will come ... he is going to dominate Indian cricket."

The captain said his conversations with Sooryavanshi deliberately range beyond cricket, taking in "his lifestyle outside, that interaction, knowing about his family".

What West Indies bring to the T20Is

West Indies are led by Shai Hope, who keeps wicket and arrives in form after an unbeaten 162 carried his side to their highest successful ODI chase in the third one-dayer.

Shimron Hetmyer comes into the squad for the shorter format having sat out the ODI series, while Jason Holder has been rested. Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd give the batting further depth through the middle and late overs.

It is India's first home bilateral men's T20I series against West Indies since February 2022, when they won 3-0.

The first T20I begins at 7pm IST at Lucknow on Tuesday, with the series closing in Bengaluru on 17 October.

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