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Match 1 | India vs West Indies T20I Series 2026 | Ekana Stadium, Lucknow | 6 October 2026
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are the likeliest openers on Tuesday, with Samson also taking the gloves. Shreyas Iyer captains a squad where Ishan Kishan offers wicketkeeping cover and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi pushes for the second opening berth. Lucknow hosts the first of five matches at 7:00 PM IST, and the selection puzzle is sharper than usual because Jasprit Bumrah is rested and Hardik Pandya is not in the group. West Indies will meet a batting order still taking shape, which makes the first ball matter.
Abhishek owns 1,858 T20I runs at a strike rate of 189.68, and he opened against Afghanistan with scores of 82, 39 and 108. Nobody argues about his place at the top. Samson has the stronger claim to partner him, since he opened in that same series with 10, 57 and 50 and has piled up 467 runs at 186.05 this year plus 321 at the World Cup. That pairing would combine two of the fastest scorers in the squad.
Sooryavanshi is the alternative. He has 193 career runs in the format, 42 against England and 151 against Zimbabwe, and he was benched for the Afghanistan games. Opening alongside Abhishek in the Asian Games final and the Zimbabwe series gave him credit, yet three predicted elevens still leave him out despite his squad spot.
Here is the eleven the evidence points to. Abhishek and Samson open, Kishan follows at three, Iyer anchors the middle at four, and Tilak Varma sits at five. Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Axar Patel then add power and overs, which leaves Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh and one of the Yadav quicks to close things out.
That last pace slot is the only genuine coin toss. Prince Yadav and Mayank Yadav are both in the squad, and with Bumrah resting, the attack needs somebody to share the new ball with Arshdeep. Mayank has taken 9 wickets in 6 T20Is at an economy of 6.73, while Prince has the same wicket tally at 8.31, which tilts the argument toward Mayank.
| Player | Role | Batting Position |
| Abhishek Sharma | Batting allrounder | 1 |
| Sanju Samson | Wicketkeeper-batter | 2 |
| Ishan Kishan | Wicketkeeper-batter | 3 |
| Shreyas Iyer (c) | Top-order batter | 4 |
| Tilak Varma | Batting allrounder | 5 |
| Shivam Dube | Allrounder | 6 |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | Batting allrounder | 7 |
| Axar Patel | Allrounder | 8 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | Spinner | 9 |
| Arshdeep Singh | Pace bowler | 10 |
| Prince/Mayank Yadav | Pace bowler | 11 |
Gloves for Samson or Kishan
Both men keep wicket, so the real question is who bats where. Samson kept in the Asian Games final, while Kishan wore the gloves against Zimbabwe. Kishan carries 1,698 career runs, 812 of them in 2026 at 176.90, and he hit 317 at the World Cup. Together they offer rare flexibility behind the stumps.
Samson as keeper and opener lets Kishan bat third without the extra workload, which is the neatest way to fit both. Kishan has also shown he can bend to the situation, batting third through the Afghanistan series before slipping to number six in the third match.
Iyer’s side arrives on a roll, with a win over Pakistan on 3 October and three straight wins against Afghanistan. The head-to-head record also leans their way, 20 wins to 10 with one no result, so the home side holds the psychological edge. Confidence will not be an issue in the home dressing room.
The visitors are patchier. Shai Hope’s team won, lost and won against Sri Lanka in June, after defeats to South Africa and then India earlier this year. Hetmyer, Powell, Rutherford, Shepherd and Shamar Joseph give them genuine power and pace, but consistency has been the missing piece.
Men’s T20Is at Ekana have leaned toward the side batting first, five wins against one for chasers, although sources disagree and one database lists only three games at the ground. Treat that as a mild lean, not a rule, because the sample is tiny.
The first ball is due at 7:00 PM IST on Tuesday 6 October, which is 7:30 PM in Dhaka. The India vs West Indies 1st T20I playing XI should therefore open with Abhishek and Samson, hold Kishan at three, and trust Iyer to steer either the chase or the total.
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Who will open for India in the first T20I against West Indies?
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are the predicted openers. Abhishek has 1,858 runs at a strike rate of 189.68, while Samson hit 57 and 50 in his last two innings against Afghanistan.
Is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the squad for the West Indies series?
Yes, Sooryavanshi is part of the squad. Three predicted elevens still leave him out, and he was benched against Afghanistan after collecting 193 runs in his T20I career.
Who will keep wicket for India in the first T20I?
Sanju Samson is the predicted wicketkeeper. Ishan Kishan is also in the squad as a keeper, and he took the gloves against Zimbabwe, so cover is not a problem.
Who captains India and West Indies in the opening T20I?
Shreyas Iyer captains India, and Shai Hope leads West Indies. Tilak Varma serves as India’s vice-captain, which gives the hosts a clear leadership structure for the series.
What time does the first India and West Indies T20I start?
The match starts at 7:00 PM IST on Tuesday 6 October. That equals 7:30 PM in Dhaka, and Ekana Stadium in Lucknow hosts the opener of the five-match series.
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