BCCI Likely to Announce India’s T20 World Cup 2026 Squad in Early January

In the first week of January next year, the BCCI will make known the Indian team for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The decision regarding this will be made by the men's senior selection committee and the announcement will be made along with the squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.

As reported by PTI, the team that will be selected for the New Zealand tour will not just be the team for the series but also the final team for the T20 World Cup India. Therefore, the bilateral series will mark the team’s last international assignment before the global event.

The 2026 T20 World Cup will be a co-hosted event by India and Sri Lanka, and the whole tournament will take place in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 until March 8. On February 7, Team India will start their journey in Mumbai against the USA. Then, they will face Namibia in New Delhi on February 12, Sri Lanka in Colombo on February 15, and the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 18.

Suryakumar Yadav’s recent batting performance has been receiving constant criticism, nevertheless, he is still anticipated to be the captain of the India T20I team. His guidance is viewed as a plus point, and thus the likelihood of a change in captaincy before the mega tournament is very slim.

On the contrary, the case of vice-captain Shubman Gill is unclear who has been struggling to leave a strong impression in T20 internationals. Although Gild is a vital player of the Indian setup in ODIs and Test matches, he may still get axed from the T20 team if the selectors choose to review his case. Yashasvi Jaiswal, the 2024 T20 World Cup winner, is being considered a possible replacement if that happens.

As the squad announcement date is getting closer, the following weeks are going to be crucial for India to decide on their final combination for the next T20 World Cup.