Suryakumar Yadav To Lead, Shreyas Iyer In; KL Rahul Out! India's Likely Squad For T20 World Cup 2026

By the time the Indian Premier League (IPL) returns in 2026, the Indian cricket team will have played another T20 World Cup, which is scheduled in February and March next year and will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The Men in Blue will aim to defend their title under Suryakumar Yadav's leadership.

The 2025 IPL was the last chance for outcasts to make their case to enter the Indian squad, which has dominated world cricket. Since Suryakumar took charge of the side post Rohit's retirement after winning the 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup, the Men in Blue have lost just two matches in 15 outings while also setting new benchmarks with the bat.

While India has a largely settled unit, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are expected to return after being away from the shortest format last year, with the focus on Test cricket and later the Champions Trophy. Both Gill and Jaiswal had incredible seasons with the bat in the IPL and are among the finest young batters in world cricket.

Gill was recently named as the captain of the Indian Test team and was the vice-captain in his last T20I outing for India against Sri Lanka. It will not be a surprise if he is named as Suryakumar's deputy for the mega event too.

Abhishek Sharma has impressed since making his debut last including a 37-ball century against England in India's last T20I and his left-arm spin will also be crucial for the team.

As far as the middle order is concerned, Tilak Varma scored two centuries in a row against South Africa and later a match-winning knock in a tricky run-chase against England, which means his spot in the team is unquestionable.

Shreyas Iyer has not played a T20I for India since December 2023, but his stand-out campaign in the 2025 IPL, where he scored 604 runs on the back of being the Men in Blue's top-scorer in the 2025 Champions Trophy triumph, makes it hard to ignore him anymore. Shreyas could also be in contention for a leadership role.

As far as wicket-keeper batters are concerned, Sanju Samson has cemented his spot after scoring three centuries in 2024. The second spot will remain open as Rishabh Pant failed to make a case for his recall. With a plethora of options already in the top order, India could be looking for a lower-middle-order batter, which could make a comeback for KL Rahul difficult. This makes it a direct contest between Jitesh Sharma and Dhurv Jurel. Jitesh' key role in RCB's 2025 IPL triumph could ensure he wins in the race.

As far as the all-rounders are concerned, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel's selection is a no-brainer and they are arguably India's two most important players. Similarly, there is little reason to doubt that star spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy will both make the squad.

Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh led India's pace attack in their 2024 T20 World Cup triumph, and both will be key to the title defense in 2026 too.

This leaves room for one spot which could either go to another all-rounder or an extra pacer.

Harshit Rana is likely to get the nod as a third pacer with his unique skillset as a hit-the-deck bowler as well as his ability to bat. The team management's faith in him is no secret.

However, if India feels confident of playing one specialist pacer like in the T20I series against England and the 2025 Champions Trophy, they could pick one of Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, or Shivam Dube to add to their all-round options.

India is set to play a minimum of 18 T20Is (if the Asia Cup does not happen) before the mega event, giving a lot of time to Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar to try out different combinations.

India Likely Squad For T20 World Cup 2026 - Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal Abhishek Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (WK), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana

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