T20 World Cup 2026: India name star-studded squad for title defence

The Senior Men's Selection Committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, announced Team India's 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 on Saturday, December 20. The Indian team will be led by Suryakumar Yadav, whereas, Axar Patel has been designated as the vice-captain of the side. This will also be the same line-up that will take down New Zealand in a five-match home series, starting January 21.

The most shocking exclusion from the 15-man line-up for the assignment is that of Shubman Gill,

who was the designated vice-captain in the series against Australia as well as the one against South Africa, while Axar was removed. However, the all-rounder makes a comeback to be Suryakumar's deputy, as board secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed at the time of reading out the squad.

The squad includes key names likes Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Sanju Samson as well. Abhishek Sharma will be seen opening the batting alongside Sanju Samson. Meanwhile, India's highest wicket-taker in the format — Arshdeep Singh, will also make the bowling core of the squad alongside Harshit Rana, while mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and left-arm unorthodox of Kuldeep Yadav are the specialist spinners.

Apart from Samson, Ishan Kishan is also a wicketkeeping option for the Men in Blue, getting a reward for his terrific run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025, where he also top-scored (517 runs in 10 matches) while also leading Jharkhand to their maiden title. However, it can be assumed that Jitesh will get the preference in the Playing XI, going by the recent line-ups. Rinku Singh has also made a comeback to the Indian team.

The T20 World Cup 2026 will be played in league stage format, where 20 teams have been divided in four groups — A, B, C, D, consisting of five teams each. India, who are placed in the Group A, will be facing the United States of America, Namibia, Pakistan, and the Netherlands to finish their group stage campaign. If they manage to finish in the top two of Group A, the Men in Blue will advance to the Super 8s.

In the Super 8s, the top two teams from each group will face three different sides from the other groups. The top four teams at the end of this stage will then advance to the semi-finals. Winners from each of the two semi-finals will be squaring off in an epic battle for the grand finale on Sunday, March 8.

India squad for T20 World Cup 2026

Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah

T20 World Cup 2026 — India group stage fixtures, schedule, venues, dates, timings

Date	Match	Time (IST)	Venue
February 7	India vs USA	7.00 PM	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
February 12	India vs Namibia	7:00 PM	Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
February 15	India vs Pakistan	7:00 PM	R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
February 18	India vs Netherlands	7:00 PM	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad