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Shubman Gill dropped, Ishan Kishan included as BCCI announces India squad for T20 World Cup 2026 and New Zealand series

By Samira Vishwas

New Delhi: Shubman Gill has been dropped from the squad as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-member team for the T20 World Cup 2026 on Saturday, December 20. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the Indian side in the marquee tournament, and Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain. The same squad will feature in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will begin on January 21.

There was no place for Jitesh Sharma in the side, as the selectors picked Rinku Singh and Ishan Kishan in the squad. The Men in Blue are the defending champions, having beaten South Africa in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Jasprit Bumrah will lead the bowling attack along with Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana for support. Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav will lead the spin bowling department. Hardik PandyaAxar Patel and Shivam Dube are the three all-rounders.

Sanju Samson, who played in the last T20I against South Africa in Ahmedabad, was selected as one of two wicketkeepers along with the returning Ishan Kishan. Rinku Singh, who hit the winning runs in the 2025 Asia Cup final in September and was one of the standbys in India’s 2024 World Cup-winning campaign, has been included in team.

Gill dropped for poor form, Kishan recalled after SMAT brilliance

Shubman Gill missed the last two T20I matches against South Africa due to a foot injury, which he suffered in the nets ahead of the abandoned T20I in Lucknow. But he has struggled to score runs in the shortest format since making a comeback in the 2025 Asia Cup. He has amassed just 291 runs in 15 innings at an average of 24.25, failing to register a single fifty or century in T20Is.

Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan has been recalled to the squad after a sensational performance for Jharkhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT 2025). He has led the team to the maiden SMAT title and topped the run-scoring list, smashing 517 runs in 10 innings at a strike-rate of 197.32, including two hundreds and two half-centuries.

He will be looking to make the most of his chances in the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand to stake a claim for a permanent place in the playing XI of the T20 World Cup 2026.

India squad for T20 World Cup 2026 and New Zealand series

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

 

 

 

 

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