India's squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, set to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, has been announced with several unexpected changes. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has made some tough decisions, most notably dropping Shubman Gill from the 15-member squad. The tournament is scheduled to begin on February 7.

Gill's Exclusion and Patel's Promotion

Shubman Gill's omission is a major talking point, especially since he was previously the vice-captain in the T20I setup. According to sources, Gill has been struggling with his form in the T20 format, failing to score a single half-century in 2025. This poor run of form seems to have influenced the selectors to prioritize current performance over past reputation. "Obviously he (Gill) has been short of runs and since he wasn't picked, we needed a vice-captain," Agarkar stated during the press conference.

In a surprising turn of events, Axar Patel has been named the vice-captain of the team. Patel's elevation to the vice-captaincy comes as a shock, especially since he missed the last two T20Is against South Africa.

Kishan's Return and Sharma's Omission

Ishan Kishan has earned a recall to the squad, replacing Jitesh Sharma as the backup wicketkeeper. Kishan's inclusion is likely due to his impressive performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he led Jharkhand to victory and scored over 500 runs. This performance seems to have given him the edge over Jitesh Sharma, who has been dropped from the squad. Sanju Samson has been selected as the primary wicket-keeper batter.

Other Key Selections

Rinku Singh, who was surprisingly left out of the squad to play South Africa, has been recalled to the World Cup squad. Washington Sundar has also secured a place in the team.

The Squad

The complete squad is as follows: Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (Vice-captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan, and Rinku Singh.

No Standby Players

The selection committee has decided not to name any standby players for the tournament.

With the T20 World Cup 2026 fast approaching, all eyes will be on Suryakumar Yadav and his team as they aim to win the competition for the third time.