As many as eight players from India’s 2024 T20 World Cup-winning team will represent the Men in Blue in the T20 World Cup 2026. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s 15-member squad for the 20-team tournament in Mumbai on Saturday (December 20), and the squad includes the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav, among others.
India’s Test and ODI captain, Shubman Gill, was however surprisingly dropped from the squad despite being India’s vice-captain in the 20-over format of the game. Apart from Shubman, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma has also been dropped from the T20I squad. Gill, who is one of the best batters of present times, missed the T20 World Cup in 2024 as well.
Here’s
a look at the complete list of changes in India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad from the winning squad in 2024:
IN: World No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana will play their first-ever T20 World Cup for Team India in 2026. Varun Chakaravarthy and Ishan Kishan, who played in the 2021 T20 World Cup for the Men in Blue, are also included in the 15-member squad. While world No. 1 T20I bowler Varun’s selection was on expected lines, the inclusion of Ishan, who last played for the Men in Blue in December 2023, surprised a few.
OUT: Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal were part of India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad but are not picked for the T20 World Cup 2026. Their exclusion from the squad was on expected lines, as they had not played any T20I matches for India in 2025.
Retired players: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja played a big role in India’s 2024 T20 World Cup win, but after India’s win over South Africa in the final, they announced their retirement from T20Is.
Retained players: Eight players—Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh—from India’s 2024 T20 World Cup squad have retained their place from the T20 World Cup 2026 as well.
India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2024: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya (VC), Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Dube, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Axar Patel (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar
