Shubman Gill's place in the squad had been under the scanner in the days leading up to the announcement. (AP Photo)
India Squad Announced for T20 World Cup 2026: Shubman Gill was omitted from India’s 15-member squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup in Mumbai on Saturday. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the team which will be deputised by Axar Patel, who missed the last two T20Is against South Africa.
Sanju Samson, who played in the final T20I against South Africa, was picked as one of two wicketkeepers along with the returning Ishan Kishan, who powered Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy recently. With Gill dropped, Samson could return to the top of the order to open with Abhishek Sharma.
Rinku Singh, who hit the winning runs in the Asia cup final in September and was one of the standbys in India’s 2024 World Cup-winning campaign, has been included.
The bowling will be led by ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who will have the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana for support. Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav will lead the spin bowling department. Hardik Pandya and Axar will offer all-round balance.
🚨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
India will play a five-match T20I series against New Zealand at home starting on January 21 which will be their final assignment before the World Cup.
Questions had been swirling around Shubman Gill’s place in the T20 squad. The 25-year-old was made vice-captain shortly after he took over as captain of the ODI squad, which itself came a couple of months after he was made skipper of the Indian Test team. However, Gill failed to make an impact as a Abhishek’s opening partner in the subsequent series in Australia and the recently concluded home series against South Africa. Gill missed the last match of the latter series due to injury.
They will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 7. They will then travel to Delhi to face Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on February 12. That would be followed by the marquee clash against Pakistan at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on February 15. India will round off their group stage by taking on the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 18.
India Squad for T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (WK)
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
