Fresh from its Asian Games 2026 triumph, Team India is set to face West Indies in the first T20I of the five-match series on Wednesday in Lucknow. On Saturday, Shreyas Iyer and Co successfully defended India’s Asian Games men’s cricket gold medal by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan by 19 runs in the summit clash. The year 2026 has been a busy one for India’s T20I side, with the team being in constant action since June. Ahead of the first T20I against the Windies, India bowling coach Morne Morkel hinted that head coach Gautam Gambhir is likely to experiment with a few new combinations in order to give some players a well-deserved rest.
The bowling coach stressed that decisions on the playing XI will be taken by the selectors, head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain, based on what they believe is the best combination for India’s World Cup campaign.
“I’m pretty sure, you know, Gautam will look to rotate. I mean, as I said, that is up to the selectors and the coach and the captain in terms of the playing XI, or which playing XI will be the best to win a game for India in our next World Cup. And that has always been the main focus,” Morkel told reporters in the pre-match press conference on Monday.
Morkel also added that training alongside experienced international players, observing their preparation and learning from their approach to building an innings will help Vaibhav grow and adapt to the highest level of the game.
“We all know the talent of Vaibhav. I think the more time he spends in this environment with the quality players, the more time he trains at this standard, will only be great for his cricket. And if he’s not getting that game time, he’s still on a bus, in the dugout, in the hotel with guys with a lot of experience. And I think with him sharing that sort of dressing room and talking through guys, just actually watching how the guys go through their processes and how they set up innings will be key for him,” said Morkel.
India recently clinched the three-match ODI series against West Indies 2-1, despite losing the third and final match in Chandigarh.
