India to unveil T20 World Cup 2026 squad today:Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill’s form major concern for Gautam Gambhir; will Rinku Singh make the cut?

The road to the T20 World Cup 2026 begins for the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian team as the squad announcement is expected to take place on Saturday. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar is expected to address the media at 1:30 PM IST. A 15-member squad, which hopes to defend the T20 World Cup crown, is expected to be announced. The team which will be announced for the T20 World Cup, will be the same squad that will feature against New Zealand. India’s road to the T20 World Cup 2026 After the conclusion of the five-match T20I series against South Africa, India’s next T20 assignment is against New Zealand. The Men in Blue will play five T20Is against the Kiwis in January, before the T20 World Cup gets underway on 7 February. What will India’s squad look like? There are a few players who have nailed down their spots in the shortest format under Gautam Gambhir. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav, vice-captain Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma are all automatic picks. Then there are the likes of Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, and Shivam Dube, who have all been a key part of the Indian T20I side for a while now. Surykumar, Shubman’s form major concern for Gambhir The Indian men’s T20I side played 21 matches in the calendar year 2025 – winning 14 while losing only thrice, once each to England, Australia and South Africa. Despite the dominance from the Men in Blue, the form of skipper Suryakumar Yadav and captain Shubman Gill remains a concern. Star names likely to miss out With the wicketkeeping duties being shared by Jitesh and Sanju, India’s test vice-captain Rishabh Pant and ODI vice-captain KL Rahul are likely to be excluded from the T20 World Cup squad. Yashasvi Jaiswal could be included in the travelling reserves as a backup opener, while Rinku Singh is on the cusp of missing a second straight T20 World Cup due to his dipping form. Shreyas Iyer is recovering from an injury and has not played a T20I fixture since 2023. Who makes the cut? India’s probable squad for T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana.