The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced India’s team for the 2026 T20 World Cup. Shubman Gill has been dropped from the team selected for this tournament to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March, while Ishan Kishan has returned to T20 international cricket after a long gap. All-rounder Akshar Patel has been appointed as the vice-captain of the team.
The team was selected after the meeting of the BCCI Senior Men’s Selection Committee held at its headquarters in Mumbai. BCCI secretary Devjit Saikia announced the squad at a press conference, after which captain Suryakumar Yadav and selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar interacted with the media. BCCI also clarified that the same team will also field in the five-match T20 International series to be played against New Zealand from January 21 to 31.
Shubman Gill has had to bear the brunt of his consistently mediocre performances in the T20 format. Gill, who was once India’s T20 vice-captain, could score only 291 runs in 15 matches this year, in which his average was 24.25 and strike rate was 137.26. He could not score even a single half-century. His performance was also weak in the recent series against South Africa, where he scored just 32 runs in three matches. Despite being impressive in ODIs and Tests, lack of consistency in T20 cricket cost him dearly.
The basis of Ishan Kishan’s return to the T20 International team was his excellent performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He scored 517 runs in 10 innings in the tournament, with an average of 57.44 and a strike rate of 197.32. In the final, Kishan gave Jharkhand the title for the first time by playing an explosive inning of 101 runs in 49 balls. He hit six fours and 10 sixes. Kishan last played a T20 International against Australia in November 2023.
Rinku Singh has also been given a place in the team. Due to his useful performances in domestic cricket and effective strike rate in international T20, he is being seen as a finisher option. Rinku has scored 550 runs in 35 T20 International matches, his average is 42.30 and strike rate is 161.76.
In the batting department, Abhishek Sharma will be seen playing T20 World Cup for the first time. In the last one year, he has established himself as an aggressive opening batsman. He has also become the fastest batsman for India to complete 1,000 T20 International runs in terms of balls. His performance in the Asia Cup was also impressive. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh will take charge of the bowling. Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakraborty have been included in the spin department, while Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar and Shivam Dubey will provide all-round options.
The same squad will play the @IDFCFIRSTBank 5-match T20I series against New Zealand in January.#TeamIndia , #INDvNZ
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 20, 2025
India will begin its T20 World Cup campaign against America on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. After this, it will play the last match of the group stage against Namibia on 12 February, Pakistan in Colombo on 14 February and Netherlands on 18 February.
India’s announced team:
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakraborty, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan.
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