In a major development, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) announced Team India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 and the five-game T20I series against New Zealand. In what comes as a major shocker, ace batter Shubman Gill has been dropped from the squad, as Axar Patel was named as the vice captain.
It is worth noting that Gill's exclusion from the squad for the World Cup and the T20I series against New Zealand was anticipated by many. For quite some time, the star batter had not been in the best of form in the shortest format, and with a string of low scores in the recently concluded series against South Africa, Gill will not be featuring for India in the World Cup.
As expected, India will be expected to open with the duo of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and others to follow in the batting order.
India will take on New Zealand before the T20 World Cup
It is interesting to note that the same squad that will participate in the T20 World Cup will play against New Zealand in the five-game T20I series as well. While the World Cup is set to begin on February 7, India will be facing the Black Caps across five T20I matches.
The games are slated to be held on January 21, 23, 25, 28, and 31. The series would prove to be good preparation for the Men in Blue as they aim to defend their World Cup crown.
India squad for T20 World Cup 2026 and NZ series: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah
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