Samson or Ishan, who’ll open with Abhishek Sharma?:Suryakumar Yadav’s poor form; 5 challenges for Team India before T20 World Cup 2026

India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 was announced on Saturday, with less than 50 days remaining for the ICC tournament. India, being the hosts and the defending champions, will hope to win their third T20 World Cup crown since 2007. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the Indian team with Axar Patel as his deputy, the latter being one of the major surprises during the squad announcement. The form of skipper Suryakumar Yadav has been a concern for the Indian team heading into the World Cup. Moreover, with Ishan Kishan, Rinku Singh now coming in, the playing order can also be a challenge for the Men in Blue. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how many spinners India will play as Gautam Gambhir tends to love having a deep batting order. Without further ado, let’s take a look at five big challenges that Team India must tackle if they hope to win the T20 World Cup next year. 5 challenges for Team India ahead of T20 World Cup 2026 1) Captain Suryakumar Yadav’s batting woes In the year 2025, Suryakumar Yadav has struggled for runs, as he has scored only 213 runs in 17 innings. With only five more matches against New Zealand in January before the T20 World Cup, the 35-year-old will hope to rediscover his mojo. The Indian captain has not scored even a single half-century in 20 matches before the World Cup, which is definitely an area of concern. Also, the Mumbai-born batter is not getting any younger. Once the World Cup ends, the BCCI might replace Surya as captain. 2) Can Axar Patel stand up to the title of India vice-captain? Axar Patel’s inclusion was expected in the squad. However, his appointment as the vice captain is the major talking point for the upcoming T20I World Cup. He has been effective but in flashes. In 2025, despite playing more T20Is(19) than ever, he has scored 183 runs but with a strike rate of 118.83. In the bowling department as well, Axar Patel has scalped fewer wickets in 2025 (17) in comparison to his 2024 T20I wickets (20). Although he has improved in terms of bowling economy in 2025 (6.93), his performance consistency will matter in the upcoming World Cup. 3) Team India’s bowling combination One of India’s key concerns heading into the tournament is how many specialist bowlers the Men in Blue will play. Going by head coach Gautam Gambhir’s recent approach, he prefers all-rounders who can contribute with the bat and add depth to the lineup. As a result, India may avoid fielding all five of their specialist bowlers – Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana. It will be interesting to see whether India opt for a two-pronged pace attack along with both Varun and Kuldeep adding spin magic, or will they go with three pacers and only one spinner. The latter may be the right approach as the Men in Blue also have the likes of Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube, who can all give variety to captain Suryakumar Yadav. Gambhir may also tweak the bowling combination according to the opposition team’s strategy. 4) Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishan, who’ll open with Abhishek Sharma? The chief selector of the Indian cricket team, Ajit Agarkar, said at the press conference that a wicketkeeper at the top gives the team more solidity. Notably, there are two wicketkeeper openers in the Indian squad for the T20I World Cup, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. Now Samson has proved his red-hot form right off the bench with his quick 37 against South Africa in the 5th T20I. However, Ishan Kishan also recently made an impact with his 101 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Haryana, leading his state to a maiden tournament title. So, there are chances that only one of these batters will get to play at a time in the playing 11. It’s worth noting that the opponent India will be playing against will also decide the playing order of the team. Although Suryakumar Yadav said at the press conference today that he’ll not be making major changes in the playing 11. 5) Rinku makes it to the WC squad, but will he play? Rinku Singh’s journey over the past year has been rather unfortunate. The Indian finisher has been in and out of the team, with no fixed place in the playing XI. Rinku last featured in T20I cricket during the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan. He faced just one delivery but made it count, hitting the winning boundary to seal the title for India. Now, he has returned to make a comeback, but it’ll be worth watching how he fits in the playing 11. Head coach Gautam Gambhir has a knack for choosing all-rounders, and in the position Rinku bats on, there are players like Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar, who might get preference over the batter for their all-rounder skills.