India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad announced; Shubman Gill & Jitesh Sharma axed

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Saturday, December 20, announced India’s 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to start on Saturday, February 7, in India and Sri Lanka.

Suryakumar Yadav will continue to lead the Men In Blue in the marquee event, and Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain. On the other hand, Shubman Gill has been axed after being inconsistent since his comeback.

Also, Jitesh Sharma, the keeper-batter in the recent five-match T20I series against South Africa, has also been axed from the squad. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson made it to the squad as the first-choice keeper.

Explosive opening batter Abhishek Sharma will open the innings alongside the first-choice keeper-batter Sanju Samson. Also, Ishan Kishan, who last played a T20I in 2023, has been picked as the backup opener and keeper.

It’s worth noting that Kishan made it to the Indian squad after his exceptional performances in the just-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26 campaign, in which he amassed 517 runs from 10 games at an average of 57.44 and a strike rate of 197.32.

While Tilak Varma is expected to occupy the No.3 spot, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, and Washington Sundar will be a part of the middle-order. 

Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack with Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Pandya forming the pace battery, while Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Varun Chakaravarthy will be a part of the spin attack.

India’s T20 World Cup 2026 Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

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