India make four changes for 1st T20I; Vaibhav Sooryavanshi misses out in Lucknow

India made four changes to their XI for the first T20I against West Indies in Lucknow on Tuesday, with Sanju Samson selected as the second opener and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi omitted.

Sanju Samson was preferred alongside Abhishek Sharma for the opening spots, pipping Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for the berth. The 15-year-old's wait for an international game on Indian soil will continue. Samson had not looked entirely comfortable at No. 3 in the two games he played in the role, but he has a strong record in sub-continental conditions and had scored a couple of half-centuries in India's last home T20I series against Afghanistan.

India also handed Naman Dhir his T20I debut; Dhir received his maiden T20I cap from Arshdeep Singh. Dhir had made his ODI debut against West Indies on September 27 and now gets his opportunity in the shortest format.

Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl first at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. "We are going to bowl first, it's a mixed soil. There will be some dew as well. Travel was pretty hectic. Came last night, today we have turned up for the game but we are in the zone," Iyer said at the toss. Iyer also praised West Indies: "They have been fabulous, they have dominated T20 cricket in the last few years. They have got brilliant batting and all-rounders. Looking forward to the contest," he said.

India made four changes to their playing XI, with Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Prince Yadav left out. The selected batting order places Samson and Abhishek Sharma as openers, Ishan Kishan at No. 3, Shreyas Iyer at No. 4, followed by Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube; Naman Dhir is at No. 7 with Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav and Mayank Yadav completing the attack.

The West Indies XI is led by Shai Hope, who will keep wickets. Their middle order includes Kamil Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford, with Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde and Roston Chase providing all-round options; Shamar Springer and Shamar Joseph complete the eleven.

Akeal Hosein will make his 100th T20I appearance for West Indies in Lucknow, adding another milestone to an important night for the visitors.

This match is the first T20I of the India v West Indies series, played at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday.