Krunal becomes captain of Indian team, Bhuvneshwar out, important changes before this tournament

Delhi: A major change has been made in the Indian team before Hong Kong Sixes 2026. After the selection of experienced fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the national team, star all-rounder Krunal Pandya has been made the new captain of the Indian team. This tournament will be played from 30 October to 1 November. Gujarat Titans (GT) fast bowler Kulwant Khejroliya has been included in the team in place of Bhuvneshwar.

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Indian team will field under the leadership of Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya will take charge of the Indian team in shorter formats like Hong Kong Sixes. In this competition, matches are played with six players, hence the ability to score fast runs along with batting and perform useful bowling is very important.

Apart from Krunal, Shashank Singh, Rahul Tewatia, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, T Natarajan and Kulwant Khejroliya have got place in the Indian team. All these players have experience of playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). There are many aggressive batting players in the team.

Bhuvneshwar returns to Indian T20 team after four years

Bhuvneshwar has been included in India's T20 team after a gap of almost four years. He has been selected for the five-match T20 International series to be held on the upcoming tour of New Zealand. Shreyas Iyer will captain the Indian team in this series.

Apart from this, Bhuvneshwar was also called as a substitute for the fifth and last T20 match against West Indies. This decision was taken after left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh got injured during the fourth match.

Organizers said something special for Bhubaneswar

Cricket Hong Kong, China official Anurag Bhatnagar said that Bhuvneshwar will definitely be missed in the tournament, but his return to the Indian team is a matter of happiness. He wished Bhuvneshwar all the best for the New Zealand tour and hoped for his return to the Hong Kong Sixes in the future.

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It is noteworthy that after this change, the Indian team will now take the field under the captaincy of Krunal Pandya with the intention of winning the title.