The tournament will kickstart on February 7.
The reigning champions are all set to defend their crown on home soil as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced their 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
This edition of ICC’s 20-over mega event would witness a major shift for the Indian camp following the retirements of the stalwarts like former captains Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and the veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. A relatively young squad, which has already showcased their domination in the shortest format of the game, will take on some of the best sides around the globe in a bid to retain their T20 glory.
But despite an influence of youth, the squad does not lack the much-required experience for the assignment. India is set to follow the opening template of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, with Tilak Varma expected to come in at No.4. However, skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s lean patch leading up to the tournament still remains a concern for the Indian management and fans.
Notably, the side will enter the event with four all-rounders in the form of Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, and Washington Sundar. The bowling attack of the team features last edition’s Player of the Tournament Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, alongside the spin wizards Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy.
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Axar Patel (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.
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The defending champions will co-host the 10th edition of the T20 World Cup with Sri Lanka, running from February 7 to March 8, 2026. India are continuing a winning spree in the format since August 2023, which includes three unbeaten title-winning campaigns, the Asian Games 2023, T20 World Cup 2024, and the latest Asia Cup 2025.
The Indian fans would hope them to carry on a similar momentum in the forthcoming event to claim their third T20 silverware. Suryakumar and Co. is scheduled to kick off their title defense against the United States of America (USA) at the Wankhede Stadium on the opening day.
This fixture will be followed by a match against Namibia in Delhi, ahead of the high-octane clash facing the arch-rivals Pakistan in Colombo on February 15. India’s final fixture will be against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad on February 18 before heading towards the Super Eights.
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