India has announced its 15-member squad for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to kick off on February 7. Suryakumar Yadav will continue to lead Team India as a captain, and Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain, as Shubham Gill has been dropped from the side.
The BCCI selection committee, led by chief selector Ajit Agarkar, have made crucial changes to the T2O roster that featured in the series against Australia and South Africa. However, most players have retained their places for the much-awaited T20 World Cup.
Who are the new faces added to India’s 2026 T20 World Cup squad?
Ishan Kishan’s resilience in domestic cricket has paid dividends, with the swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman on course to join Team India for their World Cup defence early next year. Gautam Gambhir’s Shubman Gill experiment has been put to bed with Agarkar confirming the selection committee’s intent to reserve the opening spot for a wicketkeeper batter, implying that either Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishan will take to the field alongside Abhishek Sharma as India’s openers. Interestingly, Kishan last played a T20I for India more than two years ago.
Aligarh-born cricketer Rinku Singh, known for his explosive batting, has made his way to the 15-member squad. Unfortunately, Jitesh Sharma was unable to secure a spot in the team despite not keeping a foot wrong in the recent chances at his disposal. India’s squad features seven left-handed batsmen, with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson and Hardik Pandya being the only prominent right-handed batsmen.
What does India’s 2026 T20 World Cup squad look like?
Followed by Samson and Abhishek’s opening pair, the middle order will be led by skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Verma. The defending champions have plenty of all-round options, with Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar providing depth in both batting and bowling. In the bowling department, the men-in-blue have trusted the pair of two spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy. While yorker king Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh will lead the fast bowling, Harshit Rana is the third pacer included in the squad.
🚨India’s squad for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 announced 🚨
Let's cheer for the defending champions 💪#TeamIndia | #MenInBlue | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/7CpjGh60vk
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 20, 2025
Here’s the squad:
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan, and Harshit Rana.
The same squad will play against New Zealand in the five-match T20I series, starting from January 21. The defending champion will kick off its T20 WC campaign against the United States of America (USA) at Wankhede Stadium on February 7. India is in Group A, alongside the USA, Pakistan, Namibia, and the Netherlands.
