Cricket: Shubman Gill dropped! BCCI announces India’s 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup squad

by Devesh Jaganath

image Cricket: Shubman Gill dropped! BCCI announces India’s 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup squad
With India’s 2025 fixture list now over, focus turns to next year, which kicks off with a multi-format series against New Zealand before the 2026 T20 World Cup. The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the 15-member squad that will contest their title defence earlier this week.

BCCI make big calls over India squad for T20 World Cup defence

While India has received some criticism for their performances in Test matches over the last couple of years, that has not been the case in the shortest format of the game. The Men in Blue are the world’s number one team in T20s and favourites with the best online betting sites for the T20 World Cup next year. 

India defeated South Africa in a thrilling final that went down to the final ball at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown in 2024. Earlier this week, the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) named the 15 players who will attempt to defend their title in the 10th edition of the competition next February. 

The headline omission from the squad is that of Test captain Shubman Gill, who has not been in the best of form in the limited-overs game of late. However, BCCI boss Ajit Agarkar alluded to team structure as the primary reason for the opener’s exclusion. He said: 

“Two keepers at the top (Sanju Samson & Ishan Kishan), that's the way we want to try, and the team management will eventually decide what kind of combinations they want to play. Rinku (Singh) has come in, who gives us a little bit more depth in the lower middle order. It’s about combinations, so someone has to miss out, and unfortunately, it is Gill at this point.”

Indeed, India’s plans to include a wicketkeeper batsman in the top order have opened the door for Ishan Kishan to return to the squad. Kishan was in scintillating form at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he scored 517 runs in 10 innings and led Jharkhand to the title. 

India 15-man squad for 2026 T20 World Cup 

t20_world_cup_squad_india_2

Suryakumar Yadav will continue to lead the team, while Sanju Samson is expected to be promoted to the top of the order, and Axar Patel will deputise as the team’s limited-overs vice-captain in Gill’s absence. 

India have been drawn into Group A for the 2026 T20 World Cup, alongside the USA, the Netherlands, and arch-rivals Pakistan. Their opening match will be played on February 7 against the USA in Mumbai and will be covered in our cricket predictions.