India have never lost a T20I in Lucknow, and West Indies start the series there with a 30-year-old new opener
Shreyas Iyer’s side open the five-match series at the Ekana Stadium at 7pm IST, with a selection puzzle at the top of the order and Kamil Pooran in line for a West Indies debut.
Oct 6, 2026
The Ekana Stadium’s first international match was India against West Indies, on 6 November 2018. Rohit Sharma made 111 not out off 61 balls that night, his fourth T20I hundred, and India won by 71 runs. Almost eight years on, the same two sides open a five-match series in Lucknow on Tuesday, 6 October, with the first ball at 7pm IST.
India have not lost a T20I in Lucknow
India have played three T20Is at the ground and won all three. After the 2018 win they made 199 for 2 against Sri Lanka in 2022, still the highest T20I total there, and won by 62 runs. In 2023 they held New Zealand to 99 for 8 and won by six wickets. Their only other fixture there, the fourth T20I against South Africa in December 2025, was called off without a ball bowled because of fog.
That low-scoring 2023 game is worth keeping in mind. Lucknow has tended to help the spinners as the ball gets older, and a total in the mid-150s has usually been enough to make a game of it. Dew later in the evening could swing the toss decision towards chasing.
Who opens for India?
The biggest selection call is at the top. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, still only 15, was player of the series in Zimbabwe in July, where he top-scored with 151 runs across three games. That might not be enough to get him in. Abhishek Sharma is the established opener, Sanju Samson was player of the tournament at the T20 World Cup, and Ishan Kishan is in the squad as a second wicketkeeper. Someone with a good claim is going to sit out.
Naman Dhir could also be in line for a T20I debut. He replaced Washington Sundar, who has gone back to play Ranji Trophy cricket for Tamil Nadu. Kuldeep Yadav is in a T20I squad for the first time since the T20 World Cup, brought back after an injury to Varun Chakravarthy, and on a ground that helps spin he will fancy his chances. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested, so Arshdeep Singh is likely to lead a pace attack that also has Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav to call on.
West Indies bring Hope’s form and a new name
Shai Hope captains West Indies in both formats, and he arrives off the back of 162 not out in Mullanpur on Saturday, when West Indies chased 352 to win the last ODI. India took that series 2-1. Shimron Hetmyer is back in the T20I side, Jason Holder has been rested, and Amir Jangoo has come in as cover for Jewel Andrew, who hurt a finger in the third ODI.
The new face is Kamil Pooran. The 30-year-old opener earned his first call-up after making 273 runs in eight innings for St Lucia Kings in this year’s Caribbean Premier League, at a strike rate of 159.64.
The record is heavily in India’s favour
India have won 20 of the 31 T20Is between the sides, against West Indies’ 10, with one no result. In India the gap is wider still. West Indies have won only two of 11 T20Is there, and the last of those was in Thiruvananthapuram in December 2019, when Lendl Simmons made 67 not out in an eight-wicket win.
The last meeting was the Super 8 game at Eden Gardens on 1 March, when Samson’s unbeaten 97 off 50 balls took India into the T20 World Cup semi-finals. Hope’s side finished the ODIs on a high in Mullanpur, but they have not won a T20I in this country for almost seven years.
After Lucknow, the series moves to Ranchi on 9 October, Indore on 11 October, Hyderabad on 14 October and Bengaluru on 17 October.