On Saturday, December 20, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, will choose the squad that will defend their T20 World Cup title in February-March of next year.
The BCCI’s Mumbai headquarters will choose the squads for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, as well as the World Cup. After the meeting, T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Agarkar will hold a press conference.
The 2026 T20 World Cup kicks off on February 7, with the summit showdown taking place on March 8. The competition, which features 20 teams, is co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. 55 matches are scheduled to be contested at five Indian locations and three in Sri Lanka.
The Men in Blue won the title in the previous tournament in 2024, defeating South Africa in the final under Rohit Sharma’s leadership.
Following the victory, Rohit confirmed his retirement from the format, as did Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. Gautam Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid as head coach, and Suryakumar took over as captain in the shorter format.
Since then, India has not lost a T20I series. They are currently playing a five-match T20I series against South Africa at home.
The Asian giants lead 2-1, with the last T20I scheduled on Friday, December 19, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India’s T20 World Cup squad should be quite predictable. Shubman Gill’s place in the lineup, on the other hand, is uncertain after his performances in the format this year have been disappointing. Since his return to the T20I side in September for the Asia Cup, the Punjab batsman has scored only 291 runs from 15 matches, with an average of 24.25 and a strike rate of 137.26. However, he could still make the cut because the selectors may not want to remove their vice-captain in the run-up to a major event like the World Cup.
Shubman was reportedly set to miss the fourth T20I against South Africa due to a foot injury. It will be interesting to see if he has recovered in time and made himself available for the decisive fifth T20I on Friday.
India
