In a surprising turn of events, against popular perception, India have dropped Shubman Gill for next year’s ICC T20 World Cup 2026 and recalled Ishan Kishan to the national setup for the first time in two years, following a productive domestic outing for Jharkhand in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Suryakumar Yadav will captain India’s title defence from February 7, when they host USA at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
In another major development, all-rounder Axar Patel is back as the T20I vice-captain after the role was taken away from him when Gill made his return to the format for the Asia Cup earlier this year. With Ishan being included as the second wicketkeeper, Jitesh Sharma has also missed the bus for the World Cup.
Also making his
return is Rinku Singh, who was dropped after hitting the winning boundary against Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup. He missed the entire five-match T20I series against South Africa but has now been included in the World Cup squad.Gill’s form has been an area of major concern for India ever since his T20I comeback, with the opening batter failing to get going despite a consistent run. He played 15 innings since his return, with 47 being his highest score during this phase.
Additionally, he replaced Sanju Samson as the opener. Samson had been India’s top run-getter in T20Is last year while Gill only managed 291 runs from 15 innings since his return.
Abhishek and Samson will open the batting for India with skipper Suryakumar, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube manning the middle and lower middle order.
The pace attack comprises Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana while the spin department will be manned by Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav with Axar being the third option in addition to the off-spin of all-rounder Washington Sundar.
The press conference, originally scheduled for 1:30 PM IST, began 35 minutes later after Suryakumar Yadav’s flight from Ahmedabad to Mumbai was delayed. Suryakumar played in the fifth and final T20I of a five-match series with South Africa on Friday night before arriving at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai for the selection committee meeting.
India have been placed alongside Pakistan, USA, Namibia and Netherlands in Group A. The same squad will also face New Zealand during a five-match series at home right before the World Cup.
India’s full squad for T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper)
