By CRIC INFO 365 Staff | September 20, 2026
West Indies are touring India from September 27 to October 17, 2026, for three ODIs and five T20Is in West Indies tour of India 2026. There are no Tests on this trip. The ODI leg opens in Thiruvananthapuram, and the T20I leg, which is the bigger part of the tour, runs across five different cities before wrapping up in Bengaluru.
Here is every date, every venue, both full squads for both formats, and the actual head to head numbers behind this series, not just the headline record.
When and Where Are the Matches of West Indies tour of India 2026?
The tour is entirely white ball, eight matches in 21 days, spread across seven different cities. That is a demanding travel schedule for both squads, and it is worth keeping in mind when you see team combinations shift midway through the T20I leg. The full fixture list is also tracked live on ESPNcricinfo, which is worth bookmarking alongside this page for ball by ball updates once the series starts.
| # | Match | Date | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1st ODI | September 27, 2026 | Greenfield Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram | 2:00 PM |
| 2 | 2nd ODI | September 30, 2026 | Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati | 2:00 PM |
| 3 | 3rd ODI | October 3, 2026 | Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh | 2:00 PM |
| 4 | 1st T20I | October 6, 2026 | Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow | 7:00 PM |
| 5 | 2nd T20I | October 9, 2026 | JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi | 7:00 PM |
| 6 | 3rd T20I | October 11, 2026 | Holkar Stadium, Indore | 7:00 PM |
| 7 | 4th T20I | October 14, 2026 | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad | 7:00 PM |
| 8 | 5th T20I | October 17, 2026 | M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru | 7:00 PM |
The Bengaluru fixture is a small landmark on its own. M Chinnaswamy Stadium has not hosted an international match since October 2024, so this closes out a two year gap for the ground.
What’s the Format of This Series (West Indies tour of India 2026)?
This tour kicks off India’s home season for 2026 to 2027, a stretch the BCCI has described as 22 international matches across 17 venues before the following March. Starting the season with a short, white ball only assignment against West Indies makes sense on a few levels. It gives India a low pressure setting to test squad depth right after a heavy IPL season and a T20 World Cup win, and it gives West Indies match practice in Indian conditions ahead of their own rebuilding cycle.
Five T20Is is also more than a standard bilateral series usually carries. Three is the more common number. The extra two matches here reflect how central T20I cricket has become to both boards’ calendars, and it gives India more room to rotate through fringe players without risking the result of the series if one or two matches go against them. It also fits into a wider global pattern where boards squeeze in as many bilateral fixtures as possible before the franchise circuit takes over the calendar again, with the Big Bash League among the leagues several of these players will head into once this tour wraps up.
There is no Test series attached to this tour, which is worth noting because West Indies have not played Tests in India since 2018. That gap is not closing on this trip either.
India’s ODI Squad
Shubman Gill continues as ODI captain, with KL Rahul stepping into the vice captain’s role. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli both return to the ODI setup, alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal and uncapped names Naman Dhir and Auqib Nabi, who get their first taste of India’s senior ODI environment.
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Shubman Gill (c) | Batter |
| KL Rahul (vc) | Wicketkeeper |
| Rohit Sharma | Batter |
| Virat Kohli | Batter |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | Batter |
| Dhruv Jurel | Wicketkeeper |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | Batter |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | All rounder |
| Ravindra Jadeja | All rounder |
| Naman Dhir | All rounder |
| Kuldeep Yadav | Bowler |
| Prasidh Krishna | Bowler |
| Gurnoor Brar | Bowler |
| Mohammed Siraj | Bowler |
| Auqib Nabi | Bowler |
Hardik Pandya is the notable absence here. He is still working through a quadriceps injury picked up after IPL 2026, and head coach Gautam Gambhir has said he cannot currently bowl a full ten overs in a day, so he was left out of this squad entirely rather than risk a rushed return. The International Cricket Council confirmed both India squads in full when the BCCI made its announcement, alongside the reasoning behind several of the changes from the Asian Games list.
India’s T20I Squad for West Indies tour of India 2026
Shreyas Iyer captains the T20I side with Tilak Varma as his deputy, the same pairing that led India through the recent Afghanistan series and into the Asian Games. This squad blends the Asian Games core with a few fresh faces brought in specifically for this assignment.
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Shreyas Iyer (c) | Batter |
| Tilak Varma (vc) | Batter |
| Abhishek Sharma | Batter |
| Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Batter |
| Ishan Kishan | Wicketkeeper |
| Sanju Samson | Wicketkeeper |
| Shivam Dube | All rounder |
| Washington Sundar | All rounder |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | All rounder |
| Axar Patel | All rounder |
| Ravi Bishnoi | Bowler |
| Kuldeep Yadav | Bowler |
| Arshdeep Singh | Bowler |
| Mayank Yadav | Bowler |
| Prince Yadav | Bowler |
Two names stand out for different reasons. Mayank Yadav returns after nearly two years in and out of the side with back and abdominal injuries, fresh off a Player of the Match return in the Zimbabwe series in July. Prince Yadav earns his maiden call up after impressing alongside Mayank on that same Zimbabwe tour.
Neither Jasprit Bumrah nor Varun Chakravarthy feature here, both tied up with the Asian Games squad instead, a commitment that also had India playing a one off warm up against Japan in the same window, covered in our India vs Japan T20I guide. Hardik Pandya remains out through injury across both formats. For the full story on how India’s squad situation has shifted across September, our India T20I squad news and injury tracker covers every change in detail.
West Indies’ ODI Squad for West Indies tour of India 2026
Shai Hope leads the ODI side, backed by an experienced top order and a seam attack built around Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph. Shimron Hetmyer is the biggest name missing, given extra recovery time after a heavy Caribbean Premier League workload rather than through injury.
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Shai Hope (c) | Wicketkeeper |
| Jewel Andrew | Batter |
| John Campbell | Batter |
| Keacy Carty | Batter |
| Amir Jangoo | Batter |
| Roston Chase | All rounder |
| Justin Greaves | All rounder |
| Sherfane Rutherford | All rounder |
| Vitel Lawes | All rounder |
| Alzarri Joseph | Bowler |
| Shamar Joseph | Bowler |
| Matthew Forde | Bowler |
| Gudakesh Motie | Bowler |
| Keemo Paul | Bowler |
| Jayden Seales | Bowler |
This is a squad leaning on Test and List A regulars rather than the biggest T20 names, which fits the pattern of West Indies treating ODI cricket as a separate rebuilding project from their white ball T20 core. Cricket West Indies confirmed both squads through its own selection panel statement, which framed Hetmyer’s absence specifically as a workload decision rather than a fitness concern.
West Indies’ T20I Squad
The T20I squad shares its captain with the ODI side, but the makeup shifts toward players with a stronger franchise T20 background. The standout selection story is Kamil Pooran, who earns his maiden T20I call up after a strong Caribbean Premier League campaign.
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Shai Hope (c) | Wicketkeeper |
| Jewel Andrew | Batter |
| Shimron Hetmyer | Batter |
| Kamil Pooran | Batter |
| Rovman Powell | Batter |
| Roston Chase | All rounder |
| Romario Shepherd | All rounder |
| Quentin Sampson | All rounder |
| Akeal Hosein | Bowler |
| Gudakesh Motie | Bowler |
| Shamar Joseph | Bowler |
| Matthew Forde | Bowler |
| Keemo Paul | Bowler |
| Shamar Springer | Bowler |
Jason Holder has been rested for this T20I leg specifically, a rotation call rather than an injury concern. At the time of writing, the squad list above reflects what has been publicly confirmed, though it may be one or two names short of the full 15 announced by Cricket West Indies.
Kamil Pooran’s inclusion is worth watching closely. He walks into a squad still built around Hope, Powell and Hetmyer, but a maiden call up on the back of a CPL campaign, rather than years of domestic grind, tells you West Indies are actively scouting for the next generation of white ball batters rather than waiting for the current core to age out naturally.
What Does the Head to Head Record Say?
India holds a clear lead in both white ball formats, but the gap is not as wide as the raw numbers first suggest once you look at how it built up.
| Format | Matches | India Wins | West Indies Wins | Tied | No Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODI | 142 | 72 | 64 | 2 | 4 |
| T20I | 31 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
The T20I number is worth a closer look, because it is not an old, settled record. India and West Indies played each other as recently as March 1, 2026, in a virtual quarterfinal at the T20 World Cup, a Super Eights match at Eden Gardens with a semifinal spot on the line. India won by five wickets, built around a match winning innings of 97 not out from Sanju Samson, and went on to lift the title. That result alone moved the head to head from 19 wins to 20 for India.
What makes this bilateral series interesting is that both sides already know exactly how the other plays under maximum pressure, from a match just six months old. This is not two teams meeting cold. It is a rematch with the World Cup context stripped away, which tends to produce different tactical choices, more experimentation, fewer safe options, because neither side has a trophy riding on the outcome this time.
It also helps to know the shape of recent form heading in, rather than just the all time tally. Both sides arrived at that Eden Gardens meeting having lost one of their previous five completed T20Is, and both had won their other four, so the two teams were genuinely level on current form when India’s batting depth made the difference on the day. That is the version of West Indies India will actually face again on this tour, a team capable of matching India for four matches out of five before one key partnership decides the outcome.
What Storylines Should You Actually Watch For?
Beyond the results, three things make this series worth following closely rather than skimming for scores.
The first is India’s squad turnover under pressure. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy, three players central to India’s T20 World Cup win, are all either absent or split off into a separate squad for this tour. That leaves this series as a genuine audition for players like Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who need to show they belong in the frame once the senior trio returns.
The second is West Indies’ generational shift. Kamil Pooran’s call up, alongside younger names like Jewel Andrew and Amir Jangoo in the squads, points toward a board actively planning past its current senior core rather than leaning on it indefinitely. How these newer players perform against a full strength Indian bowling attack, even a rotated one, will tell you more about West Indies’ medium term outlook than the series scoreline will.
The third is simply volume. Five T20Is against the same opponent, across five different Indian venues with different conditions, gives both sides more data on their fringe players than a standard three match series ever could. Watch the Ranchi and Indore pitches in particular. Both grounds have skewed toward batters in recent seasons, and a young bowling attack finding wickets there would say a great deal about depth heading into 2027.
FAQs
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When does the West Indies tour of India 2026 start and end?
It starts September 27, 2026, with the first ODI in Thiruvananthapuram, and ends October 17, 2026, with the fifth T20I in Bengaluru.
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How many matches are being played on this tour?
Eight matches in total: three ODIs and five T20Is. There is no Test series on this tour.
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Who is captaining each side?
Shubman Gill captains India’s ODI side and Shreyas Iyer captains the T20I side. Shai Hope captains West Indies across both formats.
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Why isn’t Jasprit Bumrah playing in this series?
Bumrah has been kept with India’s Asian Games squad instead of this bilateral tour, part of a broader plan to manage his workload carefully after a knee injury earlier in the year.
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Why is Hardik Pandya not in either squad?
Pandya is still recovering from a quadriceps injury and has not been cleared to bowl a full workload, so he was left out of both the ODI and T20I squads for this tour.
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What is the head to head record between India and West Indies?
India leads 72 to 64 in ODIs and 20 to 10 in T20Is, with a small number of tied and no result matches in each format. The two sides most recently met in the 2026 T20 World Cup, where India won.
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Where can I watch the India vs West Indies matches?
Broadcast details will be confirmed closer to the series, typically through India’s usual domestic sports broadcasters and streaming platforms alongside Cricket West Indies’ regional partners in the Caribbean.
Final Word
This series looks routine on paper, a fixture that exists mostly to fill the calendar before India’s bigger assignments later in the season. Look closer and it is actually a stress test for both squads. India needs to find out who steps up while three of its biggest names sit out. West Indies needs to find out whether its newest additions can handle Indian conditions against a team that just won a World Cup. Eight matches across seven cities should answer both questions clearly by October 17.
For live scores, squad news and match reports as this series unfolds, keep this page bookmarked.
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