India announce T20 World Cup 2026 squad, Suryakumar Yadav to lead

The stage is set for the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup 2026; the marquee tournament is all set to kick off on February 7, and ahead of the competition, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) took centre stage and announced Team India’s squad for the World Cup. 

It is worth noting that Suryakumar Yadav will be leading Team India in the tournament. Ace all-rounder Axar Patel has been named as the vice captain, with the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, and Hardik Pandya included as well. 

Interestingly, as the defending champions of the T20 World Cup, India will be aiming to become the very first team to defend their T20 World Cup title. It is worth noting that India will be without the services of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja, as the veteran trio retired from the shortest format of the game after leading



the side to the title win in 2024. With the absence of three experienced star players, it could be interesting to see how India fares in the upcoming edition of the World Cup.

India to kick off T20 World Cup captain by taking on the USA

Speaking of team India’s schedule in the T20 World Cup 2026, the Men in Blue will kick off their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign by taking on the USA. The two sides will lock horns at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on February 7. They will follow it up by taking on Namibia in Delhi on February 12.

India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah