India Squad for T20 World Cup 2026: Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh have been added to India’s 15-member squad for the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, as well as for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand leading up to the global tournament next year. Suryakumar Yadav will captain the team, with Axar Patel appointed as vice-captain.
Consequently, Shubman Gill, who served as vice-captain until the recently finished T20I series against South Africa, along with Jitesh Sharma, has not made the final selection. BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, captain Suryakumar Yadav, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed the 15-member squad for the major event from the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday (December 20).
Axar previously held the vice-captain position for the Indian T20I squad until the end of the five-match T20I series against England in January and February, before Gill assumed the role in India’s next T20I assignment at the Asia Cup in September of this year. Gill continued as deputy for Suryakumar in the following series against Australia and South Africa, but Axar will now reclaim the position.
Gill had been sidelined for the last two T20Is due to a foot injury sustained during practice ahead of the abandoned T20I in Lucknow. However, it was not a successful year for Gill in T20Is, as he accumulated only 291 runs in 15 innings, averaging 24.25 and striking at 137.26, without any fifties or hundreds to his name.
In contrast, Kishan enjoyed a remarkable season in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he led Jharkhand to victory. He amassed 517 runs in just 10 innings at an impressive average of 57.32 and a striking rate of 197.32 in the tournament. He recorded two fifties and two centuries, including a century in the final against Haryana (101 off 49).
The batting lineup features a formidable array of players including Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Rinku, and Kishan. Hardik Pandya, who dazzled with 63 runs off 25 balls in the final T20I in Ahmedabad, is one of four all-rounders, alongside Axar, Shivam Dube, and Washington Sundar.
The bowling composition includes three frontline pacers and 2 frontline spinners. Bumrah will lead the pace attack while Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are the other 2 fast-bowlers. The spinners include Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep.
Ahead of India attempting to defend their T20 World Cup, India will face New Zealand for three ODIs and five T20Is. The T20I series will be played from January 21 to January 31 in preparation for the marquee event. The squad for the three ODIs, which will be played from January 11 to January 18, will be announced at a later date.
India, the defending champions, will also be the co-hosts of the upcoming edition along with Sri Lanka.
The 2026 edition will be the 10th Men’s T20 World Cup and feature 20 teams, who have been divided into four equal groups of five for the group stage.
India are in Group A with arch-rivals Pakistan, USA, the Netherlands and Namibia. They will open their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against the USA in Mumbai on February 7.
The marquee India vs Pakistan clash is scheduled for February 15 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
The T20 World Cup 2026 final is slated for March 8, with Ahmedabad set to host unless Pakistan qualify, in which case Colombo will stage the title match.
India are two-time winners of the Men’s T20 World Cup. MS Dhoni had led India to the trophy back in the inaugural edition of the tournament when South Africa hosted it in 2007. They reclaimed the title in 2024 with Rohit Sharma at helm.
Full squad…………..
Suryakumar Yadav (Capt.), Axar (Vice-capt.), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar, and Ishan Kishan (wk).
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