The likes of Gill and Sarfaraz were not looked at by the BCCI selectors
Jitesh Sharma, who was part of the IND T20I squad for SA series, was also dropped
Ishan Kishan has made his way back into the T20I fold
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee on Saturday, December 20 announced the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav. The selectors have dropped Shubman Gill from the T20 World Cup squad and brought back wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan along with Rinku Singh.
Gill's omission is the most interesting decision of the selection meeting in Mumbai although given his form, it wasn't very surprising.
Despite being one of India’s most consistent batters across Tests and ODIs, Gill has struggled to nail down a fixed role in T20Is, particularly as an opener, where India are now prioritising high-impact starts over accumulation.
Moreover, there are some other names too, who have been unfortunate to miss out on the team list despite some quality performances in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025.
Here are five names who been unlucky to miss out on the T20 World Cup 2026 India squad -
1) Ankit Kumar (Haryana)
Ankit Kumar impresses with the bat during the SMAT 2025 with some prolific batting for Haryana team. His 448 runs at an impressive strike rate of 172.30 saw him come second to only Ishan Kishan. However, Ankit's batting failed to impress the BCCI selection committee as they went for the tried and tested players.
2) Sarfaraz Khan (Mumbai)
Another name that could count himself unlucky for not being part of the T20 WC 2026 Squad is Mumbai's Sarfaraz Khan. The 28-year-old was in terrific form as he played some entertaining knocks including a 22-ball 73 against Rajasthan in the SMAT 2025 Super League stage. He even scored an unbeaten 100 in Mumbai's opening game against Assam in the T20 domestic tournament.
3) Ashok Sharma (Rajasthan)
Ashok Sharma has had a breakthrough year, wherein he impressed for Gujarat in SMAT 2025, bagging 22 wickets in 10 matches. Moreover, he also earned a maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) contract with Gujarat Titans for INR 90 lakh. However, Ashok could count himself unlucky for not being on the Indian squad despite some performances in the domestic circuit.
4) Jitesh Sharma (Baroda)
Wicket-keeper-batter Jitesh Sharma could count himself the most unluckiest man on earth after his axe from the recently announced India T20 2026 World Cup squad. The 32-year-old, who has played 16 T20Is for India and scored 162 runs, was not selected instead the selectors opted for Ishan Kishan.
5) Shubman Gill (Punjab)
India's Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill has had a rollercoaster of a period so far. Injury in the 1st Test against South Africa in England and then no action for few games, but then got some action in the T20Is but failed to impress with the bat. The BCCI think-tank axed the star player and instead opted for Sanju Samson up the order.
India Squad for T20 World Cup 2026
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel (vice captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (Wk), Washington Sundar
