Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The BCCI recently announced India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 and the upcoming series against New Zealand. The contingent featured a couple of surprise picks.
Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh returned to the T20I squad at the expense of Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Suryakumar Yadav tried to explain the reasoning behind the picks during their post-announcement press conference.
India’s squad for the T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Abhishek SharmaAxar Patel (vice-captain), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan (week), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (week), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.
With these changes in mind, the best side of the Men in Blue could also wear a slightly different look. On that note, here is India’s strongest XI for the T20 World Cup.
Openers: Sanju Samson (week) and Abhishek Sharma
With Gill out of the picture, Abhishek Sharma is likely to open the batting alongside Sanju Samson, who will also keep wickets. The Indian wicketkeeper-batsman has been in and out of the team in recent times and will want to give a good account of himself against New Zealand.
Middle order: Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh
In terms of the middle order, India have only one real question: whether to pick Washington Sundar or Rinku Singh. While Sundar can contribute a bit with the ball, it remains to be seen whether he will have enough to do against dominant right-handed opposition. So, Rinku as a pace batsman up the order would add immense depth to the line-up.
Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav will complete the top four, with Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube as the team’s all-rounders. Suryakumar’s form will be watched closely as he does not deserve a place in the side based on his returns in the current calendar year.
Lower order: Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy
Finally, in the bowling department, India might unfortunately not have a place for Kuldeep Yadav. Varun Chakaravarthy will lead the spin attack, with Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh serving as the team’s two front-line spinners.
Edited by Sai Krishna
