West Indies Tour of India 2026: Full Schedule, Venues and the Gear Behind the Series
Three ODIs, five T20Is, eight cities. Here is the West Indies tour of India 2026 schedule — and the gear that turns match-watching into match-playing.
West Indies tour of India 2026: the full schedule
The West Indies tour of India 2026 is the series that closes out India's home September and fills October with prime-time cricket. Eight matches across eight cities, three ODIs followed by five T20Is, and a fixture list that hops from Kerala to Assam to Punjab before settling into the T20 leg. If you are planning tickets, a watch party, or just your own gully season around it, here is the schedule in one place.
ODI series
| Match | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 1st ODI | 27 September 2026 | Greenfield Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram |
| 2nd ODI | 30 September 2026 | ACA Stadium, Guwahati |
| 3rd ODI | 3 October 2026 | Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh |
T20I series
| Match | Date | Venue | Start |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st T20I | 6 October 2026 | Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow | 7:00 PM IST |
| 2nd T20I | 9 October 2026 | JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi | 7:00 PM IST |
| 3rd T20I | 11 October 2026 | Holkar Stadium, Indore | 7:00 PM IST |
| 4th T20I | 14 October 2026 | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad | 7:00 PM IST |
| 5th T20I | 17 October 2026 | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru | 7:00 PM IST |
India go in with Shubman Gill leading the ODI side and Shreyas Iyer the T20I side; Shai Hope captains West Indies across both formats.
What to watch for in the West Indies series
Three storylines are worth your attention. The first is dew. Every T20I starts at 7:00 PM in early-to-mid October, which is peak dew season across Lucknow, Indore and Hyderabad. Expect toss-winners to bowl first almost everywhere, and expect spinners defending totals to struggle to grip a wet ball.
The second is venue character. Holkar Stadium in Indore has historically been one of India's highest-scoring grounds, while the Ekana surface in Lucknow has often been slower and rewarded cutters. Chinnaswamy, small square boundaries and all, is the natural finale for a T20 shoot-out.
The third is West Indies power hitting. Whatever the rankings say, a Caribbean T20 side in Indian conditions is still the most likely source of the series' biggest over — and the most likely reason your local ground fills up the following weekend.
The gear behind the series: playing your own version
Every India home T20 series produces the same effect — apartment grounds and street corners fill up the next morning. If that is you, tennis-ball cricket is the format you will actually play, and it has its own equipment logic.
A tennis-ball bat is not a cut-price leather bat. It is lighter, has a flatter profile and a bigger effective hitting area because it never has to survive a hard ball. The Puls8 Bullet Cricket Tennis Bat at ₹2,275 is built for exactly this — quick pickup for the swing-hard, swing-early cricket the T20 leg will inspire.
Ball choice matters more than most gully players think:
- Heavy tennis balls carry further, swing more and behave closer to a real cricket ball. The Tennex Heavy Weight Premier Cricket Ball at ₹81 is the pick for a proper ground with a long boundary.
- Light tennis balls are the safer choice for narrow streets, terraces and mixed-age games. The Tennex Light Weight Cricket Ball at ₹90 does the job without denting the neighbour's car.
- Soft-seam practice balls like the SG Club Lite Cricket Ball at ₹89 bridge the two — useful for kids stepping up towards leather-ball cricket.
Buy balls in bulk, not in threes. A serious weekend of tennis-ball cricket goes through more balls than anyone plans for, and mid-innings ball changes are the fastest way to ruin a close chase.
Watching the series properly
If you are going to a ground: October evenings in Lucknow and Chandigarh get genuinely cool by the second innings, so carry a layer even if the afternoon was warm. If you are hosting: the 7:00 PM starts mean most matches finish close to 10:30 PM, so plan food around the innings break rather than the first ball.
And if the series does what India home T20 series usually do, block out the following Sunday morning. Your local ground will be busy.
Shop the gear
- Puls8 Bullet Cricket Tennis Bat — ₹2275
- Tennex Heavy Weight Premier Cricket Ball — ₹81
- Tennex Light Weight Cricket Ball — ₹90
- SG Club Lite Cricket Ball — ₹89
Related reading
- 2026 T20 World Cup Cricket Gear Checklist: What to Pack This Season
- Best Cricket Bats for Tennis Ball Cricket in India: A Buying Guide
- Heavy vs Light Tennis Balls for Cricket in India: Which Should You Buy?
Frequently asked questions
When does the West Indies tour of India 2026 start and end?
The tour runs from 27 September to 17 October 2026. It opens with three ODIs — Thiruvananthapuram on 27 September, Guwahati on 30 September and New Chandigarh on 3 October — and then moves to a five-match T20I series that finishes at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on 17 October.
Which cities host the T20I matches?
Five cities: Lucknow on 6 October, Ranchi on 9 October, Indore on 11 October, Hyderabad on 14 October and Bengaluru on 17 October. All five T20Is are scheduled for a 7:00 PM IST start, which means dew will be a real factor in the second innings at most venues.
Who is captaining the two sides?
India are led by Shubman Gill in the ODIs and Shreyas Iyer in the T20Is. Shai Hope captains West Indies in both formats. Squads can change through the tour, so check the latest team announcements before each leg.
