Among the many notable omissions in the India squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, Yashasvi Jaiswal was also excluded. The 15-member team was announced a day after India won the T20I series against South Africa. In the same press conference, the squads for the white-ball tour against New Zealand were also announced.
The left-handed youngster has played 23 T20Is in his short career, making 700+ runs at an average of 36.15 and striking at 164.31. Yashasvi Jaiswal also has a hundred and five fifties in the 20-over format. While those are great numbers, the opening batter last played a T20I match in July 2024 against Sri Lanka.
Similarly, Yashasvi Jaiswal was snubbed from the ODIs too after playing a solitary match earlier this year. But he made his comeback against South Africa in the recently concluded bilateral series. He made his selection worth with a scintillating hundred in the ODI series decider. However, the soon-to-be 24-year-old is a mainstay in Tests.
The reason for the omission of Yashasvi Jaiswal in the white-ball formats is simply that he’s an opening batter. As of now, there are multiple options for India in the T20Is. Abhishek Sharma continues to hold his place. Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are the other two options at the top. Thus, despite being in blazing form, Jaiswal suffers the brunt of the competition.
The three ODIs against New Zealand will kick off on January 11, 2026, followed by the five-match T20I series on January 21.
The T20 World Cup 2026 will commence on February 7. India’s first clash will be against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, and Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper).
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In six seasons of the Indian Premier League, Yashasvi Jaiswal has represented Rajasthan Royals and made 2,100+ runs. His overall strike rate goes above 150. He has struck two hundreds and 15 half-centuries so far. The opening batter has constantly provided good starts to RR.
In the latest IPL 2025, Yashasvi Jaiswal returned with 559 runs in 14 outings at an average of 43 and a strike rate of 160. He made six half-centuries and had a top score of 75. While the team underperformed throughout the season, finishing in the ninth spot with just four wins, Jasiwal and his partner, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, were the only positives. Jaiswal was also the top run-getter for RR and seventh in the Orange Cap list.
To conclude, Yashasvi Jaiswal is an aggressive T20 batter. However, his wait to represent India in T20Is continues to stretch. The reason is less to do with form, but primarily about multiple opening batters creating confusion for the team. Given that Jaiswal has age on his side, his time will come.
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