India Excludes Shubman Gill from T20 World Cup Squad
India's T20 World Cup Squad Announcement
Mumbai, Dec 20: In a surprising turn of events, the defending champions India have decided to omit Shubman Gill from their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup and the T20 series against New Zealand. The announcement was made by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, along with captain Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, who named Axar Patel as the vice-captain.
In addition to Gill, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma has also been left out, making way for Ishan Kishan's impressive return to the team after his standout performance that led Jharkhand to victory in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Rinku Singh is also back in the T20I squad after missing the 3-1 series win in South Africa.
"We are exploring different combinations. It’s unfortunate for Gill, who is a talented player, but we are focusing on the combination we want. Ishan has been in excellent form and has previously played for India," Agarkar explained.
The 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup is set to take place from February 7 to March 8, featuring 40 group matches until February 20. The top two teams from each of the four groups will progress to the Super Eights starting February 21.
India and Sri Lanka are co-hosting the Men’s T20 World Cup for the second time, with Sri Lanka having hosted the 2012 edition and India last hosting in 2016. Following a three-match ODI series, India will engage in five T20Is against New Zealand, commencing on January 21 in Nagpur, with subsequent matches in Raipur, Guwahati, Visakhapatnam, and Thiruvananthapuram.
In the T20 World Cup, India finds itself in Group A alongside Pakistan, USA, Netherlands, and Namibia. The Men in Blue aim to be the first team to defend their T20 World Cup title successfully, win the tournament on home soil, and secure the title for the third time.
India will kick off their Cup campaign against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 7, followed by a match against Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on February 12.
A highly anticipated clash against Pakistan is scheduled for February 15 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, with the final league stage match against the Netherlands taking place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 18.
India's squad includes: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar, and Ishan Kishan.