India's T20 World Cup 2026 squad will mirror the one selected for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The 20-over World Cup is scheduled to be played from February 7 to March 8 in the sub-continent.
ICC tournaments mandate the participating teams to submit their final 15-member squad a month ahead of the starting of the event. The selection panel have an option of making changes to the final squad till a cutoff date prescribed by the apex body.
A BCCI source privy to the development noted
that the World Cup squad will wear a similar look as the one for the New Zealand series unless there are any injuries or other extreme circumstances.
"With only 10 T20Is left before the T20 World Cup, you won't see many changes happening in the squad proper unless someone is ruled out due to any specific injury. One of the biggest reasons being continuity and the 15 chosen for the series against the Black Caps won't be tinkered with because of the short turnaround time," stated the source, as quoted by NDTV Sports.
It is also understood that five-match T20I series against South Africa will be the final opportunity for head coach Gautam Gambhir and T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav to test a few players before the series against the Kiwis. The five T20Is will be a dress rehearsal for the marquee event.
The BCCI had followed the same template like the one used during the T20 World Cup 2024 and the Champions Trophy 2025. Both the tournaments were eventually won by Indiain convincing fashion.
The five T20I matches against New Zealand will be played in Nagpur (January 21), Raipur (January 23), Guwahati (January 25), Vizag (January 28) and Trivandrum (January 31). The T20Is will be preceded by three ODIs.
