West Indies Tour of India 2026: Tests, ODIs & T20Is Schedule

The West Indies tour of India 2026 is the first multi-format Caribbean visit to India in years — and, more pointedly, the first time they will play a Test on Indian soil since the 2018 Rajkot-Hyderabad series. Two Tests, three ODIs and a five-match T20I leg are pencilled in across September and October 2026, occupying the prime window between the end of the English summer and the start of India's heavy home-international block.

For West Indies, this is a rebuild tour. The Pollard-Russell-Bravo generation has fully retired from international cricket. A new core — Brandon King, Shimron Hetmyer, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph — is being asked to define the next era. For India, it is the start of the 2026-27 home season proper, the first dress rehearsal for the bigger blocks against South Africa, Australia and the WTC business end. This hub gathers everything we know, everything we expect, and where the BCCI's formal announcement is still pending.

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Series at a glance

• Tour window: Mid-September to late-October 2026 (subject to BCCI announcement)
• Format: 2 Tests + 3 ODIs + 5 T20Is
• Host: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
• Visitors: Cricket West Indies (CWI)
• Trophy: Anthony de Mello Trophy (Tests), bilateral series for ODIs and T20Is
• Broadcast (India): Star Sports network (TV) and JioHotstar (digital)
• WTC context: Both Tests count in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle

This is a meaningful series in calendar terms. The two Tests are the headline, with the T20I leg sitting late in the tour as part of India's preparation for the 2026 T20 World Cup defence cycle and Suryakumar Yadav's extended captaincy run. The ODIs sit in the middle, blending squad rotation with 2027 ODI World Cup auditioning.

For the wider context of every series India hosts this winter, the India home season 2026-27 master schedule is the page to bookmark. It cross-links every tour hub.

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Full schedule (provisional)

The fixture grid below is based on the BCCI's indicative international calendar circulated to state associations, plus the standard Indian rotation logic for two-Test series. We will update this page the moment the BCCI publishes its final fixtures.

#	Match	Dates	Likely venue	Start time (IST)
1	1st Test	September 17 – 21, 2026	Ahmedabad (Narendra Modi Stadium)	9:30 AM
2	2nd Test	September 25 – 29, 2026	Delhi (Arun Jaitley Stadium)	9:30 AM
3	1st ODI	October 4, 2026	Visakhapatnam (ACA-VDCA)	1:30 PM
4	2nd ODI	October 7, 2026	Mumbai (Wankhede)	1:30 PM
5	3rd ODI	October 10, 2026	Hyderabad (Rajiv Gandhi)	1:30 PM
6	1st T20I	October 14, 2026	Pune (MCA Stadium)	7:00 PM
7	2nd T20I	October 17, 2026	Lucknow (Ekana)	7:00 PM
8	3rd T20I	October 20, 2026	Chennai (MA Chidambaram)	7:00 PM
9	4th T20I	October 23, 2026	Bengaluru (Chinnaswamy)	7:00 PM
10	5th T20I	October 26, 2026	Kolkata (Eden Gardens)	7:00 PM

A few notes on the calendar:

• Why September-October? The window sits between the end of England's home summer (which is the last West Indies international assignment before the tour) and the start of India's heavier home block in November. It is the only realistic gap.
• Two-Test rotation: A short Test series usually goes to a marquee venue plus a traditional Test ground. Ahmedabad and Delhi fit that template — Ahmedabad for scale, Delhi to bring a Test back to the capital after a prolonged absence.
• T20I expansion: A five-match T20I leg is unusually long and reflects two things — India's desire for SKY-led continuity ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup defence, and the BCCI's commercial preference for shorter formats in the second half of the year.

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Likely venues

Test venues: Ahmedabad and Delhi

The Test leg almost certainly opens at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad — the BCCI's flagship venue for marquee Tests, with a pitch that has, in recent series, leaned slightly more towards balanced surfaces than the spin-dominated wickets of the early 2020s. Ahmedabad as a Test-1 host gives the BCCI a strong opening fixture for broadcaster appointment-viewing.

The second Test is expected to return to the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Delhi has not hosted a major Test in over two seasons, and the Kotla rotation is overdue. The ground tends to favour reverse swing in the second innings and offers spinners variable bounce by day three — conditions that should suit India's spin attack against a West Indies batting unit still finding its red-ball footing.

Outside chances: Kanpur (Green Park) and Hyderabad (Rajiv Gandhi) were both Test venues in recent rotations and either could replace Delhi if scheduling demands shift.

ODI venues: Visakhapatnam, Mumbai, Hyderabad

For the three ODIs, the BCCI tends to spread fixtures across regions:

• Visakhapatnam (ACA-VDCA): Quality ODI surface, good batting conditions, increasingly a fixture in India's ODI rotation.
• Mumbai (Wankhede): A Wankhede ODI under floodlights remains one of the better ticket-selling fixtures in Indian cricket.
• Hyderabad (Rajiv Gandhi): A batter-friendly ground at this time of year, with shorter dimensions square of the wicket.

T20I venues: Pune, Lucknow, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata

A five-match T20I leg gives the BCCI room to rotate across regions: Pune and Lucknow open the leg, Chennai and Bengaluru host the middle Tests, and Kolkata closes the series at Eden Gardens — historically a strong T20 audience venue.

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How to watch

In India, every match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports network (TV) with English and Hindi commentary, and streamed on JioHotstar (digital). Regional language commentary feeds (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali) are typically available on Star's regional sub-channels for the white-ball legs.

For international viewers:

• West Indies and Caribbean: ESPN Caribbean
• United Kingdom: TNT Sports (subject to rights deal renewal)
• United States and Canada: Willow TV / Willow by Cricbuzz
• Australia and New Zealand: Fox Cricket / Sky NZ
• Rest of the world: Star Sports network and ICC's international rights partners

Digital-only viewers in India can stream every ball on JioHotstar, with HD quality and multi-language commentary.

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Head-to-head record

Here is the all-format head-to-head between India and West Indies, accurate to the start of the 2026 series:

Format	Played	India won	West Indies won	Drawn / Tied / NR
Tests	~100	23	30	47 (incl. draws)
ODIs	~145	75	65	5 (NR / tied)
T20Is	~30	16	13	1 (no result)

The Test numbers tilt historically towards West Indies — most of those wins came during the 1970s-80s when the Caribbean side dominated world cricket. In the modern era (since 2010), India have been overwhelmingly dominant in Tests, with a near-perfect home record. The white-ball numbers are far more competitive, but India have won the last three bilateral T20I series and the last two ODI series.

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The 2018 context: India's last home Tests against West Indies

To frame this 2026 tour, you have to revisit the October 2018 Test series in Rajkot and Hyderabad.

India won both Tests inside three days. Prithvi Shaw scored a debut century at Rajkot. Virat Kohli scored 139 in Hyderabad. Kuldeep Yadav took five-wicket hauls in both Tests, and Umesh Yadav ran through the West Indies tail twice. The series was a stark demonstration of how far apart the two Test programmes had drifted — India in their pomp at home, West Indies still searching for a red-ball identity.

Eight years on, the storylines are different. India's middle order is in transition — Rohit and Kohli's Test futures are an open question, Shubman Gill is the long-term batting leader, and the spin succession plan (Jadeja, Ashwin, Sundar, Kuldeep) is still being authored series-by-series. West Indies have actually beaten Australia in Australia in a Test (2024), beaten England in England (2024), and have the makings of a more resilient Test side than the one beaten in 2018.

The 2026 series, then, is the first proper home rematch. It matters more than the headlines suggest.

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Squad watch

Full squads will be announced approximately ten days before each leg.

India

• Test squad: Likely captained by Shubman Gill (subject to confirmation). Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Virat Kohli (selection-dependent), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, KL Rahul, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel.
• ODI squad: Selected with the 2027 ODI World Cup auditioning lens. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are likely to be managed across the three ODIs given the upcoming heavier schedule. Watch for Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Riyan Parag and Sai Sudharsan in the middle order.
• T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav captain. Largely the same group as the 2026 T20 World Cup squad — Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill (or Yashasvi Jaiswal) at the top, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.

West Indies

• Test squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain, subject to selection), Shai Hope, Brandon King, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Kevin Sinclair, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Jomel Warrican, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Tevin Imlach.
• ODI squad: Shai Hope (captain), Brandon King, Keacy Carty, Sherfane Rutherford, Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Romario Shepherd, Gudakesh Motie, Matthew Forde, Shamar Joseph, Joshua Da Silva (wk).
• T20I squad: Rovman Powell or Shai Hope (captain — to be confirmed), Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Fletcher (wk), Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy, Matthew Forde.

The big squad questions on the WI side: who captains the Test team (Brathwaite's long-term role is increasingly uncertain), and whether Hetmyer is selected for the Test leg (a long-running selection saga).

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The four storylines we are tracking

1. India's Test middle order — Kohli's home swansong?

Virat Kohli's Test future has been the defining selection question of the 2026 calendar year. The West Indies series, on his preferred home pitches, could be a final big-runs window before the bigger England-and-Australia challenges. Or it could be where the next-generation handover (Sai Sudharsan, Yashasvi at four) fully accelerates.

2. West Indies' new pace generation

Shamar Joseph, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales and Kemar Roach form the most credible Caribbean Test pace battery in over a decade. Indian pitches will not flatter them — but if Shamar Joseph can find reverse swing on a Delhi day-three pitch, the series could be more competitive than headlines suggest.

3. Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy continuity

The five-match T20I leg is, in effect, a structured captaincy block for SKY ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup defence. Combinations, bowling rotations, and finishing patterns will be tested across five matches against a West Indies T20I side that is always live in this format.

4. WTC 2025-27 implications

Two home Tests are 24 WTC points if India sweep — and a meaningful jump in their PCT (Percentage of Points). For the points-system primer, see our ICC WTC rules and points system guide and the 2025-27 WTC cycle explainer. To model the qualification race, use the WTC India simulator. And for where India sits in the latest ICC Test rankings, a clean home sweep cements their top-three status.

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What to expect from the conditions

Late September to late October is one of India's better cricketing windows — monsoon retreat is mostly complete, daytime heat is manageable, and pitches are typically firm.

• Ahmedabad in September: Daytime highs around 32-34°C, dry. A balanced surface — pace and bounce early, spin from day three.
• Delhi in late September: Cooling rapidly into mid-20s by evening. Reverse-swing-friendly second innings; spin assistance on a worn Kotla pitch by day four.
• Visakhapatnam, Mumbai, Hyderabad in early October: Warm, with occasional residual monsoon showers (low risk). Generally batting-friendly ODI surfaces.
• Pune through Kolkata in mid-late October: Cool evenings, dry surfaces. Good T20I conditions — first innings totals around 175-200 likely.

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Tickets and on-ground info

Ticket sales open approximately 3-4 weeks before each match through the host association's official portal — typically BookMyShow or the venue's official ticketing partner. Test ticket prices typically start around ₹500 (general stand) and run to ₹5,000+ (premium boxes). ODI day-tickets typically start at ₹1,000. T20I tickets — given the shorter format and higher demand — typically start at ₹1,200-1,500.

Key tips:

• Buy through the official portal announced by the host association — third-party resellers typically inflate prices and risk invalid tickets at the gate.
• Photo ID matching the booking name is required at the gate.
• Each venue has a published prohibited-items list (no DSLR cameras at most, no outside food and drink, no large bags).

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Why this tour matters

For Indian fans, a West Indies tour can feel nostalgic — a reminder of the 1980s rivalries and the 1983 World Cup final. For Caribbean fans, this is a road test of a generation that has been told, repeatedly, it is the rebuild generation. Brandon King, Shamar Joseph, Alzarri, Hetmyer, Akeal — they need a competitive series in India to validate that.

For India, it is the formal start of the 2026-27 home season, a chance to bank WTC points, audition the ODI middle order before the 2027 World Cup, and give SKY's T20I unit a five-match block of continuity. We will be live with previews, pitch reports, playing XIs, ball-by-ball updates and post-match analysis throughout. Bookmark this hub — it is the home page for every CricJosh piece on the series.

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Quick links

• Master season schedule: India home season 2026-27 — every tour, every format
• Sri Lanka tour next up: Sri Lanka tour of India 2026 — T20 & ODI schedule
• Border-Gavaskar 2027: Australia tour of India 2027 — BGT Tests
• Zimbabwe in January: Zimbabwe tour of India 2027 — Eden Gardens ODI
• WTC simulator: Model India's qualification path

For more cricket previews, see our domestic cricket category.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When does the West Indies tour of India 2026 start? The tour is provisionally scheduled to begin in mid-September 2026, with the first Test pencilled in for September 17-21 at Ahmedabad. The full tour runs through to late October, ending with the fifth T20I at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on October 26.

Where can I watch India vs West Indies 2026 live in India? Every match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports network (TV) and streamed on JioHotstar (digital). Regional language commentary will be available on Star Sports' sub-channels for the white-ball legs.

Are these the first West Indies Tests in India since 2018? Yes. The last time West Indies played a Test in India was the October 2018 series in Rajkot and Hyderabad, both of which India won inside three days. The 2026 series is the first home Test rematch in eight years.

Do these Tests count for the World Test Championship? Yes. Both Tests are part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. India can earn up to 24 points from a 2-0 sweep, with significant impact on their PCT in the qualification race for the 2027 WTC Final.

Who will captain West Indies on this tour? The Test captaincy is the question to watch. Kraigg Brathwaite's position is increasingly uncertain. The white-ball captains are likely to remain Shai Hope (ODIs) and Rovman Powell or Shai Hope (T20Is) — subject to formal CWI confirmation closer to the tour.

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The West Indies tour of India 2026 is not the loudest fixture on the BCCI calendar, but it is one of the most meaningful — a Test rematch eight years in the making, a five-match T20I block to anchor a captaincy era, and the formal start of India's 2026-27 home season.