Shubman Gill left out of squad; Axar Patel named vice-captain
Rinku Singh returns to Indian T20I team
Ishan Kishan makes comeback as second wicketkeeper-batter
The Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee on Saturday (December 20, 2025) named the 15-member India squad for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup. The team will be captained by Suryakumar Yadav, who addressed the announcement press conference alongside Agarkar.
The big news was that Shubman Gill, the India vice-captain in the recent T20I series, was left out of the squad, and Axar Patel was named Suryakumar's deputy. Rinku Singh returned to the India fold, and so did Ishan Kishan as the second wicketkeeper-batter. No stand-bys were named.
Teams can make changes to their T20 World Cup squads until January 31.
The same squad was named for January's five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The series, which will serve as a veritable warm-up for the 20-over showpiece in February co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, starts in Vadodara on January 11.
India Squad For ICC T20 World Cup 2026
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Axar Patel (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar.
India Squad For New Zealand T20Is
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Axar Patel (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar.
India won the just concluded home T20 international series against South Africa 3-1, and have a fantastic record in the format over the past 24 months. The Men In Blue have lost just five of 47 matches they have played in the last two years, underlining their dominance before and after winning the T20 WC title in 2024.
The 10th edition of the T20 World Cup will be held from February 7 to March 8 across eight venues in India and Sri Lanka. India are placed in Group A along with arch rivals Pakistan, USA, Netherlands and Namibia. India will take on the USA in their tournament opener in Mumbai on February 7.
