Shubman Gill, who served as the team’s vice captain till the conclusion of the T20I series against South Africa, and Jitesh Sharma were consequently left from the roster. From the BCCI offices in Mumbai on Saturday, December 20, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, skipper Suryakumar Yadav, and top selector Ajit Agarkar revealed the 15-man team for the major event.
India’s 15-man roster for the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and the five-match T20I series against New Zealand ahead of the international competition next year includes Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh. The team’s captain will be Suryakumar Yadav, and the vice-captain will be Axar Patel.
India’s squad consists of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Rinku Singh, and Suryakumar Yadav (captain).
Prior to Gill taking over for India in the Asia Cup in September of this year, Axar served as the team’s vice-captain till the end of the five-match T20I series against England in January and February.
Axar will now take over for Gill, who also served as Suryakumar’s deputy in the ensuing Australia and South Africa series.
Due to a foot ailment he sustained in the nets prior to the cancelled T20I in Lucknow, Gill had missed the previous two Twenty20 Internationals. Gill scored just 291 runs in 15 innings at an average of 24.25 and struck at 137.26 with no fifties or hundreds to show for his efforts, but it wasn’t a successful year for him in T20Is.
In the just finished Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Kishan enjoyed a breakthrough season, leading Jharkhand to victory. Throughout the event, he struck at an incredible 197.32 and amassed 517 runs at 57.32 in just 10 innings. He hit two hundreds and two fifties, including a century (101 off 49) against Haryana in the final.
A potent group comprising Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Rinku, and Kishan comprise the batters. at the final Twenty20 International at Ahmedabad, Hardik Pandya scored 63 runs off of 25 balls. He is one of four all-rounders, the other three being Axar, Shivam Dube, and Washington Sundar.
Three front-line pacers and two front-line spinners make up the bowling composition. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana will be the other two fast bowlers, with Jasprit Bumrah leading the pace attack. Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy are two of the spinners.
India will play New Zealand in three One-Day Internationals and five Twenty20 Internationals before trying to defend their T20 World Cup. The T20I series will be played in advance of the main event from January 21 to January 31. The team for the three One-Day Internationals (ODIs), scheduled for January 11–18, will be revealed later.
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