Ravi Bishnoi has aced it! Playing his first T20I since February 2025, the leg-spinner ended up being India’s best spinner against New Zealand in Guwahati.
Originally, Bishnoi wasn’t even part of India’s squad against the Kiwis. An untimely injury to Washington Sundar brought the leggie back into the fray. Since Bishnoi wasn’t selected for the T20 World Cup 2026, captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir benched him for the first two matches.
Bishnoi troubles Kiwis in Guwahati
In Guwahati, India decided to rest Varun Chakravarthy and play Bishnoi. The move worked wonders. The leg-spinner gave away a mere 18 runs in 4 overs. He picked the wickets of Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman, New Zealand’s highest scorers of the day.
Known for bowling quickly, Bishnoi delivered balls as fast as 105.5. He hardly bowled even in the early 90s. An unusual wrist spinner, who bowls more googlies than leggies, Bishnoi got both of his wickets on the ball coming in. That too on consecutive deliveries, 11.6 and 15.1.
Will he replace Washington Sundar?
This performance couldn’t have come at a more perfect time for Bishnoi. As mentioned above, he isn’t part of India’s squad for the T20 World Cup. Washington, whom he replaced, isn’t confirmed for the ICC tournament either.
“Washington Sundar underwent scans after reporting an acute onset discomfort in his lower rib area while bowling during the first ODI against New Zealand at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara, on 11 January. This was followed by an in-person consultation with an expert. He has been diagnosed with a side strain and has been advised rest for a few days, following which he will report to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) for further management of his injury,” BCCI had said on January 16.
Kuldeep Yadav‘s form hasn’t been great. In Guwahati, he went for 32 runs in 3 overs. Before the T20I series, in the ODI series against New Zealand, the left-arm wrist spinner struggled. There are concerns over Washington’s availability, which only make the case for Bishnoi’s inclusion stronger. One can’t forget Axar Patel is expected to return to the side.
It’ll be interesting to see whether he plays in the last two T20Is, because that could be a sign of things to come.
India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel (vc), Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh
Cricket
ICC T20 World Cup warm-up schedule to be announced on Jan 26, IND vs SA match likely
