Why these 8 Indian stars, including Shreyas Iyer, will miss upcoming West Indies series

India are set to be without several key players, including vice-captain Shreyas Iyer, for their upcoming ODI series against the West Indies later this year, with the Asian Games 2026 schedule clashing with the bilateral assignment. As things stand, the three-match ODI series against the Caribbean side is India's next confirmed 50-over engagement, although a proposed ODI series against Bangladesh is yet to receive official confirmation.

The scheduling overlap means India will have to field separate squads for the West Indies series and the Asian Games, resulting in the absence of several regular ODI players.

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Why these eight Indian players will miss the ODI series vs West Indies

India's ODI series against the West Indies is scheduled to be played between September 27 and October 3, while the men's cricket competition at the Asian Games in Japan will run from September 24 to October 1.

With both events taking place simultaneously, players already selected in India's Asian Games T20 squad will not be available for the ODI series against the West Indies.

The eight players expected to miss the series are:

Shreyas Iyer
Ishan Kishan
Axar Patel
Nitish Kumar Reddy
Washington Sundar
Harshit Rana
Jasprit Bumrah
Arshdeep Singh

Among them, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh were part of India's recent ODI series against England. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana missed that assignment because of injuries.

Who could replace them?

With eight regulars unavailable, the selectors could turn to several players who have recently been part of India's ODI setup.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Harsh Dubey, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj and Ayush Badoni are among the names who could receive opportunities in the West Indies series. Some of these players have already represented India in ODIs, while others have featured in recent squads.

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Meanwhile, India's squad for the Asian Games 2026 includes Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.