NEW DELHI: Indian cricket fans will not have to stay up as late to watch the men's team's upcoming T20I series in England. In a move aimed at boosting television viewership in India, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has revised the start times for three floodlit T20Is during India's white-ball tour of England next month.
India will play five T20Is and three ODIs in England between July 1 and July 19. According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the ECB has advanced the start times of three evening T20Is by one hour following discussions with broadcasters.
The matches were originally scheduled to begin at 6.30 pm local time (11 pm IST), as announced last year. However, they will now start at 5.30 pm local time (10 pm IST), making them more viewer-friendly for Indian audiences.
The adjustment means fans in India can expect the matches to finish around 2 am instead of stretching close to 3 am.
The decision once again underlines the commercial significance of India matches for English cricket. Tours involving India continue to be among the ECB's most valuable broadcast properties, with television audiences playing a major role in scheduling decisions.
The timing change comes days after the BCCI announced India's squads for the two-match T20I series against Ireland and the five-match T20I series against England.
Shreyas Iyer will lead the side, replacing Suryakumar Yadav as captain, while the biggest talking point was the inclusion of teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in a senior India squad for the first time.
The 15-year-old earned his maiden call-up after a record-breaking IPL 2026 season.
Sooryavanshi finished as the leading run-scorer of IPL 2026, collecting 776 runs while winning the Orange Cap. He scored one century and five fifties at a remarkable strike rate of 237.30.
His sensational campaign fetched him five individual awards — Emerging Player of the Season, Most Valuable Player, Orange Cap, Best Strike Rate of the Season and Most Sixes in the tournament.
The youngster now stands on the verge of creating history. If selected during the Ireland or England series, Sooryavanshi will become India's youngest international cricketer, surpassing the record currently held by Sachin Tendulkar.
Tendulkar made his India debut at the age of 16 years and 205 days during the 1989 tour of Pakistan. At 15, Sooryavanshi has the opportunity to break a record that has stood for nearly four decades.
India squad for T20I series against Ireland:
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
India squad for T20I series against England:
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
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