Team India will be selected for the T20 World Cup today, what will happen to Yashasvi Jaiswal-Ishan Kishan?
Mumbai. The time for the selection of the Indian team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is very close. The Indian team for this mega event is to be announced today i.e. 20th December (Saturday). The meeting of the Indian Men’s Selection Committee under the leadership of Ajit Agarkar will be held in Mumbai for the team selection, after which the Chief Selector along with captain Suryakumar Yadav will announce the team in a press conference at 1.30 pm.
There seems to be very little possibility of any major or surprising change in the 15-member Indian team selected for the T20 World Cup 2026. Only the team that participated in the recent T20 series against South Africa can repeat for the World Cup. The poor form of Suryakumar Yadav and vice-captain Shubman Gill is definitely raising concerns, but it would not be right to make sudden changes in the team.
By the way, let us tell you one thing that changes can be made in the 15-member team selected before the start of T20 World Cup 2026. This has happened before also. This year, during the IPL Champions Trophy 2025, keeping in mind the spin friendly pitches of Dubai, Varun Chakraborty was included in the Indian squad in place of Yashasvi Jaiswal.
There is also a discussion going on that this T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, starting from February 7, could be the last tournament for Suryakumar Yadav as captain. 35 year old Suryakumar has been struggling with poor form for almost a year. The Indian team will also be selected for the five-match T20 series against New Zealand in January. It is believed that the team for this series against New Zealand will almost match the team selected for the T20 World Cup.
Yashasvi is also a contender for selection, but…
There does not seem to be any open competition for any position in the current Indian T20 team. However, keeping a young batsman like Yashasvi Jaiswal out of the T20 team continuously has been beyond comprehension. Shubman Gill’s form is not good and questions have been raised about his place. Shubman made a comeback in T20 International through Asia Cup, but his form in this format has not been anything special. Shubman has not been able to score a single half-century in T20 International this year.
At present, Sanju Samson is playing the role of backup opener and reserve wicketkeeper in the team. However, after the return of Shubman Gill, the opening slot was snatched from him and he has been continuously out of the playing-11. If the T20 World Cup was a little further away, the selectors would have had time to consider options. Now only 5 matches are left in terms of preparation, so the selection committee would like to maintain continuity.
It will be interesting to see whether the selectors include Yashasvi Jaiswal in the team as an additional player at least for the New Zealand series, so that he is ready for the World Cup if needed. Yashasvi’s name can definitely come up as a standby or additional option as he has proved himself to be a more effective T20 batsman than Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson. Due to Gill being the vice-captain and Jitesh Sharma being the first choice option in wicket-keeping, it is not easy for Yashasvi to make a place in the 15-member team.
Will Ishaan Kishan make a surprise entry?
Along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, one name which has been in discussion in recent times is that of Ishan Kishan. Ishaan played an important role in helping Jharkhand win the title by giving a stormy performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26. In this tournament, Ishaan scored 517 runs with the help of an explosive strike rate of 197.32 and 33 sixes. Ishaan was not only the highest run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but he also showed that he can be a gamechanger in T20 cricket by hitting big shots in big matches.
The century in the final strengthened Ishan Kishan’s claim. However, almost all of Ishaan’s runs have come in the top order. Team India’s top order in T20 is already housefull, due to which Ishaan’s entry is very difficult for the World Cup. There is one factor that can change the equation, that is Shubman Gill’s continuously declining form. If the selectors feel that this bad phase will continue for a long time, then Ishaan’s name can seriously come into discussion again.
Washington Sundar seems to be the only weak link in the probable team for the T20 World Cup. Despite playing a lot of international matches, he has not been able to give any memorable performance till now, although keeping in mind the Asian conditions, he can also be included in the team. The World Cup squad of the Indian team can have 4 specialist batsmen, 2 wicketkeepers, 2 batting all-rounders, 2 specialist spinners, 2 spin bowling all-rounders and three specialist fast bowlers.
Probable 15-member Indian team for the T20 World Cup and series against New Zealand: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakraborty and Washington Sundar.
Possible standby: Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prasidh Krishna, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh and Shahbaz Ahmed
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