India Squad for T20 World Cup 2026: The Indian team for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 was announced on December 20 (Saturday). Suryakumar Yadav will captain the Indian team in the tournament, while Shubman Gill, who is struggling with poor form, is not part of the squad. Axar Patel has been appointed as the vice-captain.
The 15-member squad also includes wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and middle-order batsman Rinku Singh. Ishan Kishan returns to the Indian team after almost two years, a reward for his good performance. The selection committee meeting was held at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters in Mumbai, after which BCCI secretary Devjit Saikia announced the team at a press conference. Ajit Agarkar was also present at the press conference.
“Shubman was the vice-captain, he's not in the team. Axar was the vice-captain when the T20s used to clash. About continuity, you're looking at combinations. If your keeper is going to bat at the top, you want a keepr who can play there. Jitesh was there, Shubman is a quality player and unfortunate to miss out. Combinations more than anything else, two keepers at the top. Rinku comes who gives that lower middle order option.” said Ajit Agarkar.
The exclusion of Shubman Gill is surprising, as he was the team's vice-captain until the South Africa series. Gill has paid the price for his poor form. Now, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma will take on the opening responsibilities. Jitesh Sharma is also not part of the 15-member squad.
Rinku Singh, who was sidelined during the series against South Africa, has also returned to the squad. Suryakumar Yadav will captain the team, while Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma have been selected as batsmen. Axar Patel and Washington Sundar will handle the spin bowling all-rounder duties. Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy will lead the spin attack. Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana are the fast bowlers.
"The omission of Shubman Gill is a surprise. Class act, quality batter. I know he struggled for a few matches, but class always tells in the end. He was coming after a long lay-off and wasn't in rhythm. When you have to go bang-bang, if your natural bent is to play along the ground, it doesn't come easy. We've seen in the IPL he's very good, so the lack of touch might have gone against him.
I do hope Shubman takes it in the right spirit. I want the very best for him. Some of these injuries have been freakish." - Said Sunil Gavaskar on Gill's omission.
ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is scheduled to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The tournament is set to begin on February 7th, with the final scheduled for March 20th. Defending champions India have been placed in Group A for this tournament. This group also includes the teams from the United States (USA), Namibia, the Netherlands, and Pakistan.
Team India will play its group stage matches in four different stadiums. The Indian team's group matches will be held at the Arun Jaitley Stadium (Delhi), Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai), R. Premadasa Stadium (Colombo), and Narendra Modi Stadium (Ahmedabad).
India Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel (vc), Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.
This same squad will also participate in the five-match T20 series against New Zealand in January.
India vs New Zealand Full Schedule
January 11: 1st ODI, Vadodara
January 14: 2nd ODI, Rajkot
January 18: 3rd ODI, Indore
January 21: 1st T20, Nagpur
January 23: 2nd T20, Raipur
January 25: 3rd T20, Guwahati
January 28: 4th T20, Visakhapatnam
January 31: 5th T20, Thiruvananthapuram.
