Team India have named their squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, starting on February 7. They enter the tournament as the defending champions as well. However, Suryakumar Yadav is all set to lead the team in his first-ever ICC tournament as captain, with Axar Patel named vice-captain in the absence of star player Shubman Gill, who was dropped after poor performances upon his return to the T20I setup in September as well.

Apart from Gill, Jitesh Sharma, who had featured in the recent T20Is against South Africa, was also dropped. Swashbuckling opener Abhishek Sharma is expected to open the side, with Sanju Samson as well. Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan, who last played a T20I in 2023, has been brought in as the backup opener and wicket-keeper as well. Notably, he has joined the squad following his outstanding campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he led Jharkhand to the title, scoring 517 runs in 10 matches at an average of 57.44 and a strike rate of 197.32.

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“You’re looking at combinations at the moment,” Agarkar said. “If your keeper (Sanju Samson) is going to bat at the top, our thought was to have another keeper [Ishan Kishan], just in case. At the moment, Jitesh was there, and hadn’t done too much wrong. We know what a quality player he is, perhaps out of runs at the moment. Unfortunate to miss out on the last World Cup as well, because we went with a different combination. But it’s the combination more than anything else.”

“Two keepers at the top, that’s the way we want to try it. Rinku, who gives us a little bit more depth lower down the order. It’s all about combinations, someone’s going to miss out when you pick a 15, and unfortunately, it’s Gill at this point,” he added.

Suryakumar Yadav, along with a returning Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube, will comprise India’s middle-order as well. On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah will lead the bowling attack along with Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Pandya, whereas Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Varun Chakaravarthy will lead the spin department.

Squad: 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, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.