Can India change their T20 World Cup 2026 squad before the tournament? Explained
India are the defending champions of the T20 World Cup 2026 as they look to become the first team to win back-to-back titles. Meanwhile, India have named their squad for the global showpiece.
India named their T20 World Cup 2026 squad on Saturday, December 20, as the Men in Blue look to defend the title that they won in 2024. The BCCI named a 15-member squad for the tournament that kicks off in India and Sri Lanka on February 7.
The major talking point from the squad was the exclusion of T20 vice-captain Shubman Gill as Axar Patel has been reinstated as Suryakumar Yadav's deputy. India have gone back to the wicketkeeper at the top strategy with Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan being the contenders to open along with Abhishek Sharma.
Meanwhile, the BCCI named the squad 49 days before the start of the tournament on February 7. The same squad will also face New Zealand in a five-match T20I series at home against New Zealand from January 21 onwards. But can India make changes to their squad for the World Cup?
Can India make changes to their squad for T20 World Cup 2026?
For the unversed, India can make changes to their squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. As per the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules, a team has to name its initial squad a month before the start of the tournament. According to this, India could have named their squad on January 7, but they opted to name it nearly three weeks before.
How long can India make changes to the squad?
Moreover, a team has to submit its final squad at least a week before the start of the tournament. Similarly, India can make changes to their squad till January 31. Meanwhile, teams can still make changes to their squad after this deadline, but that will be allowed only in case of injury and only after seeking permission from the ICC.
India T20 World Cup 2026 Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Ishan Kishan (WK), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar