India vs West Indies T20I series 2026 report card: Grading every player from both teams

India vs West Indies T20I series 2026 report card: Grading every player from both teams originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Shai Hope’s two unbeaten centuries and Keemo Paul’s five-for make them the West Indies’ standout performers.
• India skipper Shreyas Iyer tops India’s grades, while Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube fall short.
• The series ended level at 2-2, after rain washed away the third T20I in Bengaluru. 

India vs West Indies 2026 T20I report card: Full player grades, top performers and major concerns

The India versus West Indies series ended at 2-2 after the fifth T20I match in Bengaluru had to be abandoned due to rain. 

The two teams have traded blows from the opening game, and neither has managed to hold an advantage for long. India won the first T20I in Lucknow by chasing 172 in only 14.4 overs, with Iyer smashing an unbeaten 102 off 43 balls.

West Indies hit back in Ranchi by reaching a target of 250 in 18.3 overs, thanks to a ferocious 102 not out off 45 balls from Shai Hope and an 84 from Sherfane Rutherford. India then won a high-scoring contest in Indore by 14 runs, and West Indies levelled the series in Hyderabad with a 24-run victory after posting 247 for 3.

* Only the performances in the first four T20Is have been taken into consideration. 

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India players' report card

Shreyas Iyer (captain): A-
Iyer finished as India’s leading run-scorer with 159 runs in four innings at a strike rate of about 215, and his unbeaten 102 off 43 balls in Lucknow was the best innings by an Indian batter in the series. He added a quick 40 off 18 balls in Ranchi, which lifted India to 249, although that total still proved too small on the night. Scores of 1 and 16 in Indore and Hyderabad were a letdown, and his captaincy was tested when the West Indies batters scored heavily. Those two low scores are the only thing keeping him from the top grade.

Abhishek Sharma: B+
Abhishek gave India fast starts in most of the games, scoring 139 runs off 76 balls at a strike rate of about 183. His 69 off 30 balls in Indore, which included five sixes and a fifty in just 18 balls, was the best of his four knocks and laid the foundation for a total of 223. He made 21 and 20 in the first two matches at better than a run a ball, but he fell to Roston Chase both times. However, his 29 off 24 balls in the chase in Hyderabad was too slow for a target of 248, and that lapse stops him from earning a higher mark.

Ishan Kishan: B+
Kishan scored 123 runs off 70 balls at a strike rate of roughly 176 and kept the scoreboard moving in the first three games. He stayed unbeaten on 37 in the Lucknow chase, made 43 off 22 balls in Ranchi and added 37 off 18 in Indore. His final outing was a three-ball 6 in Hyderabad, which came at a time when India needed a solid platform. He also held three catches in the field across the series, which adds a little to his case.

Tilak Varma: A
Tilak did not bat in Lucknow because the chase ended early, but he made the most of his three innings after that. He scored 115 runs off 59 balls at a strike rate of about 195, including an unbeaten 44 off 18 balls in Ranchi, 28 in Indore and 43 off 25 in Hyderabad. His 43 was the top score in the Hyderabad chase, and he fell at 200 for 6 with 48 still needed from 18 balls. He also took three catches, one in Lucknow and two in Indore, and he is one of the few Indian players who has been steady throughout.

BCCI/Creimas

Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper): B-
Samson scored 152 runs off 79 balls at a strike rate above 190, but his innings of 11, 82, 3 and 56 show how uneven his contribution has been. His 82 off 41 balls in Ranchi and 56 off 23 in Hyderabad, with half-centuries reached in 21 and 20 balls respectively, were of match-winning quality. However, he was dismissed cheaply in two of the four games, including a three-ball stay in Indore that left India at 7 for 1. He also took two catches behind the stumps, and the inconsistency remains the main worry about his place at the top.

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Naman Dhir: B+
Naman took five wickets in 10 overs, and his three for 31 in Lucknow, which included Shai Hope, Romario Shepherd and Shamar Springer, was the best bowling effort by an Indian in the series. He added two more in Indore, removing Kamil Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer, who had both been scoring freely. His economy of about 11.4 is high, as he went for 19 in a single over in Hyderabad and 25 in two in Ranchi. With the bat he made 14 runs from 7 balls, including a duck in Hyderabad.

Nitish Kumar Reddy: B
Nitish played in Indore and Hyderabad and gave India useful balance in both. He scored 62 runs off 34 balls, with 21 in Indore and a quick 41 off 20 in Hyderabad, where he added 50 for the sixth wicket with Tilak Varma. With the ball he picked up the wicket of Quentin Sampson in Indore and finished with one wicket from five overs at an economy of 11.6. It is a small sample, although both of his performances were positive.

Axar Patel: C+
Axar took four wickets, two for 26 in Lucknow and one each in Indore and Hyderabad, but he was expensive in the other games and finished with an economy of about 12.2. His 63 runs in 3.3 overs in Ranchi was the costliest spell by any Indian bowler in the series. He also made 20 in Indore before being run out and 3 in Hyderabad. The wickets keep him in the middle ranks, yet his bowling has not given India the control they expect from him.

Shivam Dube: D
Dube had only one significant outing, in Ranchi, where he made 7 off 10 balls before being bowled by Chase. He bowled two overs in the same match and gave away 30 runs without taking a wicket. He was in the XI for Lucknow but neither batted nor bowled, and he was not part of the team in the next two games. The sample is small, but the one opportunity he got did not go well.

BCCI/Creimas

Arshdeep Singh: B-
Arshdeep took five wickets in the four games, including three for 44 in Indore where he dismissed Hope, Rutherford and Keemo Paul. His economy of nearly 11 and 52 runs in Hyderabad took some shine off those numbers, however, and he was injured and retired hurt after scoring 5 with the bat in that game. He also made 11 in Indore. The new-ball wickets were useful, but the death overs remain a problem for him.

Mayank Yadav: B
Mayank took four wickets, and his three for 36 in Ranchi was a superb burst because he removed Pooran, Hetmyer for a golden duck and Powell in the powerplay. He was also the most economical Indian seamer in Indore, conceding just 34 runs in four overs with 11 dot balls. However, he leaked 52 runs in Hyderabad and finished with an overall economy of about 10.8. He is a bowler who can change a match in a spell, although he has not yet done it every time.

Prince Yadav: B
Prince played in Indore and Hyderabad and bowled eight overs for 73 runs, an economy of about 9.1, which is the best among India’s regular seamers. His only wicket was Hetmyer, caught and bowled in Hyderabad after the batter had scored a rapid 33. He also made an unbeaten 13 off 6 balls with three fours in Indore, although he was bowled first ball in Hyderabad. It was a steady performance from a bowler who has been given limited chances.

Kuldeep Yadav: B
Kuldeep played only the first two matches and took three wickets for 86 runs from eight overs. His two for 33 in Lucknow, in which he removed Chase and Forde, helped to bring about a West Indies collapse from 114 for 4 to 135 for 8. In Ranchi, he picked up Rutherford but gave away 53 runs. He was not in the team for Indore or Hyderabad, so the sample is small, but the Lucknow spell was good.

BCCI/Creimas

India report card table

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West Indies players' report card

Shai Hope (captain, wicketkeeper): A+
Hope scored 261 runs in four innings at a strike rate of roughly 190, and two of them were unbeaten hundreds, 102 off 45 balls in Ranchi and 102 off 50 in Hyderabad. His 52 off 37 balls in Lucknow was a solid start, and only a five-ball 5 in Indore interrupted the run of big scores. He also led the side calmly and made three dismissals behind the stumps, including stumpings of Ishan Kishan and Naman Dhir. No other player in either squad has had such a decisive influence on the series, which is why he earns the only A+.

Creimas/BCCI

Sherfane Rutherford: A
Rutherford scored 221 runs at a strike rate of about 189 and averaged above 70 for the series. His 84 off 37 balls in Ranchi, which included seven sixes, turned a chase of 250 into a procession, and his 56 off 34 in Lucknow was one of two half-centuries in a losing cause. He added 32 in Indore before finishing unbeaten on 49 off 26 balls in Hyderabad, which pushed West Indies past 240. He is the batter India’s bowlers have found hardest to stop after Hope.

Shimron Hetmyer: B+
Hetmyer scored 81 runs off only 41 balls at a strike rate close to 198, although his returns were uneven. He was run out for 5 in Lucknow and bowled first ball by Mayank Yadav in Ranchi, but he came alive in the last two games with 43 off 26 balls in Indore and a rapid 33 off 12 in Hyderabad. His quick runs in Hyderabad took West Indies to 110 for 2 in the eighth over, which set up the big total. The two early failures keep him just below the top bracket.

Kamil Pooran: C+
Pooran made 58 runs in three games at a strike rate of 145 and played only one innings of note, a 42 off 27 balls in Indore. He fell for 12 off 11 balls in Lucknow and for 4 off two balls in Ranchi, so his record was inconsistent. He was not part of the side in Hyderabad, where Jewel Andrew took his place. The strike rate is respectable; however, it is lower than most of the other top-order players.

Rovman Powell: C
Powell made 53 runs off 40 balls at a strike rate of about 132, which is modest for a middle-order hitter. His scores were 0, 24, 5 and 24, and on both occasions when he reached 24 he failed to turn the start into a major contribution. He was dismissed by Axar Patel twice in four games. He also bowled 0.2 overs for 7 runs in Ranchi, and he has not been the finisher West Indies hoped for.

Jewel Andrew: C+
Andrew played only in Hyderabad, where he opened with Hope and made 21 off 16 balls. The pair raced to 50 in 22 balls, helped by 11 extras, before he was trapped lbw by Axar Patel at 52. His strike rate of 131 was modest for the situation, but he gave the innings a decent start and also took two catches in the field, those of Kishan and Iyer.

Quentin Sampson: C
Sampson featured only in Indore, where he made 21 off 15 balls in the middle order. His innings helped add 46 runs for the fifth wicket and kept West Indies in the chase until the 16th over. He was caught by Tilak Varma off Nitish Kumar Reddy, and with only one innings there is little more to judge him on.

Creimas/BCCI

West Indies all-rounders

Keemo Paul: A-
Paul played only the last two games, but he has made the biggest bowling impact for West Indies. His five for 41 in Hyderabad, which included Samson, Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel and Prince Yadav, turned a chase of 248 into a collapse. He also took one wicket in Indore and made a six-ball 10 with the bat. His six wickets at an economy of just under 10 are very good, although he did send down five wides in Hyderabad.

Roston Chase: A-
Chase took six wickets at an economy of about 9.1, the best figures among the regular West Indies bowlers, and his three for 24 in Ranchi was the most economical spell of the series. He dismissed Abhishek in Lucknow, Abhishek, Kishan and Dube in Ranchi, and Kishan and Iyer in Indore, which means he took the wicket of at least one big Indian batter in three of the four games. He went wicketless for 43 runs in Hyderabad. With the bat, he made 5 and an unbeaten 5, so the grade is based almost entirely on his bowling.

Romario Shepherd: B-
Shepherd batted twice and bowled in three games, and his best contribution was an unbeaten 34 off 13 balls with three sixes that helped finish the Ranchi chase. He made 7 off 5 balls in Lucknow and took one wicket, Tilak Varma, in Hyderabad. However, he conceded 103 runs in 8.4 overs, an economy of nearly 12, and he missed the Indore match.

Shamar Springer: C+
Springer bowled in all four games and took five wickets, including Samson and Iyer in Ranchi, Abhishek in Indore and Iyer again in Hyderabad. His economy of nearly 13 was high, and he conceded 64 runs in four overs in Ranchi. With the bat, he hit an unbeaten 35 off 11 balls in Indore, which included four sixes and took West Indies close to a total they had no right to chase. He picked up valuable wickets, but the cost has been high.

Matthew Forde: D
Forde played only in Lucknow, where he made 2 off 4 balls and was caught by Kishan off Kuldeep Yadav. He then bowled two overs that went for 39 runs without a wicket, an economy of 19.5, as Iyer and Kishan took the chase apart. He was not part of the team for the remaining three games. The sample is very small, but the one outing was poor.

West Indies bowlers

Gudakesh Motie: B+
Motie played from the second match onwards and took three wickets for 71 runs in eight overs, an economy of just under 9. His two for 13 in two overs in Hyderabad removed Abhishek Sharma and Naman Dhir in the space of one ball (the latter stumped by Hope), and it helped to turn the match. He also dismissed Naman in Indore. He was used sparingly in the last game, though the spells he did get were tidy.

Akeal Hosein: C
Hosein played the first two matches and took one wicket, a caught-and-bowled of Samson in Lucknow, where he conceded 37 runs in four overs. He was hit hard in Ranchi, going for 46 in three overs without a wicket. He also made 15 off 9 balls in Lucknow, which was a useful lower-order effort. He was not in the side for the last two games.

Shamar Joseph: D+
Joseph took two wickets, both in Indore, where he dismissed Samson for 3 and bowled Mayank Yadav, but he conceded 54 runs in four overs on the day. His economy over the series was above 14, and he gave away 47 in 2.3 overs in Hyderabad. He was also unbeaten on 0 in Lucknow. The pace is there, but the control has been missing, and he has been the most expensive of the West Indies regulars.

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West Indies report card table

India’s batters need consistency, and their bowlers need better death-over control

A shortened game of nine overs is a poor way to end a series that was so evenly poised, and the 2-2 result leaves India with more to work on than to celebrate. The home side had reached 118 for 5 in 7.4 overs before the rain ended the match, which was a healthy rate of 15.39 an over, but the way in which those five wickets fell said as much about their weaknesses as the runs said about their power.

Sanju Samson remains the biggest talking point. His scores of 11, 82, 3, 56 and 16 show a batter who can destroy an attack in a matter of overs, yet he has been bowled or dismissed cheaply in three of the five games. He was bowled by Shamar Springer again on Saturday, and the next step for him is to build an innings against the new ball before he begins to attack.

Abhishek Sharma is in a similar position, because his 6 off 4 balls was another early exit, and he has now fallen to Roston Chase twice and to Paul once. His 69 in Indore proved what he can do, although a slow 29 off 24 balls in Hyderabad suggests he is less comfortable when the start has to be measured.

Shreyas Iyer’s form after the Lucknow century is the other worry for the management. He scored 1, 16 and 22 in the last three innings, and both he and Tilak Varma, who made only 7 off six balls and was bowled by Springer, were out to deliveries they would normally put away. Ishan Kishan, who hit 30 off 10, and Naman Dhir, who struck an unbeaten 24 off six, were the positives, but both have also had low scores in the series, so their improvement lies in turning cameos into longer stays.

The bowling needs even more work. Axar Patel went for more than 12 an over across the series, Arshdeep Singh was costly at the death before his injury in Hyderabad, and Mayank Yadav conceded 52 in a single game. Shivam Dube has not been seen since Ranchi, and the pace attack as a whole has not yet found a way to contain big hitters in the last five overs.

India have the batting depth to win most T20Is, but unless the top order becomes steadier and the bowlers tighten up, they will keep giving opponents a way back in.

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