Gill Dropped, Ishan Kishan Comeback: India Squad for T20 World Cup 2026 Announced

The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated cricketing events in the near future, as the tournament returns to the subcontinent for its 10th edition. It is scheduled to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March 2026. The event will feature 20 teams fighting it out across 55 matches in a round-robin format that includes the group stage, Super Eight phase, semi-finals, and the final.

Several iconic venues across both nations, which are among the best cricket stadiums in the world, will host matches. India will enter the competition as the defending champions, aiming to defend their title on home soil, while marquee clashes, including potential India–Pakistan encounters, are expected to draw massive worldwide attention.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially announced India’s squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on December 20, 2025. The majority of the players were expected to make it to the squad as they were a part of the setup for a long time now, but a few key players are also missing out. With the World Cup just weeks away at this point, the squad reveal has fueled discussion around the form of a few big names ahead of the biggest T20 event on the international calendar.

Suryakumar Yadav Set to Lead India with Axar Patel as his Deputy

The team India squad T20 World Cup 2026 has been officially announced, and the core group of players has remained largely unchanged, as now only a single T20I series is left before the mega ICC event. The South Africa tour of India has recently concluded, and New Zealand will be visiting in the month of January.

The 15-member lineup has retained most of its current stars, with Suryakumar Yadav trusted to lead the Men in Blue in the tournament. Some of the best T20 batsmen like Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya are a part of the India T20 squad. On the bowling side, key pacers and spinners like Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel have been included in the squad. There have been big changes in the squad, where former Vice-Captain Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma have been dropped from the squad.

India Squad T20 World Cup 2026

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vc), Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.