The Indian team has been announced for the T20 World Cup 2026, Ishan Kishan has returned in this team captained by Suryakumar Yadav. Vice-captain Shubhman Gill and Jitesh Sharma have been dropped. Former cricketer Wasim Jaffer raised a big question about the team, he feels that Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jitesh Sharma should have been in this team. According to him, these two players could have been in place of Ishan Kishan and Washington Sundar.

T20 World Cup 2026 will be organized from 7 February to 8 March in India and Sri Lanka. The team was announced through a live press conference on Saturday, December 20, which was attended by Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar, BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia and Suryakumar Yadav. On Sunday, the day after the team was announced, former cricketer Wasim Jaffer tweeted, “Why not Jaiswal and Jitesh? #T20WorldCup.” After this he made another post.

What did Wasim Jaffer say?

Wasim Jaffer reposted his own tweet and wrote, “I would have played them (Jitesh and Yashasvi) instead of Ishan Kishan and Washington Sundar. Axar is the vice-captain, so his playing is certain and you cannot play Washington before Varun Chakraborty and Kuldeep Yadav. Jitesh has not done anything wrong that he should be dropped and Yashasvi, there is no need to tell why he should not be in the team.”

I would have them in place of Ishan & Washi. Axar is VC so he’s sure to play and you can’t play Washi ahead of Varun and Kuldeep. Jitesh hasn’t done anything wrong to be dropped and Yashasvi, don’t need any explaining why he shouldn’t be there in first place. #T20WorldCup2026 https://t.co/68BtGDKZYx

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) December 21, 2025

Indian team for T20 World Cup 2026

Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakraborty, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper).

India’s schedule in T20 World Cup 2026

• 7 February- vs America (Mumbai)
• 12 February- vs Namibia (Delhi)
• 15 February- vs Pakistan (Colombo)
• 18 February- vs Netherlands (Ahmedabad).

There are less than 2 months left for the start of T20 World Cup 2026, but the problem of the batting line-up of the Indian team has not been solved. On one hand, due to the exclusion of Rinku Singh, the role of finisher within the team has become a matter of concern. In the first T20 match against South Africa in Cuttack, Jitesh Sharma was given the responsibility of wicketkeeper, while Sanju Samson, who was playing the role of wicketkeeper in the T20 team for 2 years, had to sit out.

This fact is not hidden from anyone that after the arrival of Gautam Gambhir, there has been a glut of all-rounder players in the middle order. In such a situation, only one slot remains vacant, on which a wicketkeeper or a finisher can be brought. It is very important to have a wicketkeeper in the team, but when Samson was ignored in Cuttack and Jitesh Sharma was played, many people were shocked. Jitesh Sharma himself has given a statement on this subject.

Samson like my big brother

Jitesh Sharma said in the post-match conference after the first T20 match, “To be honest, he is like an elder brother to me. Having more competition brings out your talent. It is also good for the team. There is a lot of talent in the team, you can also feel it.”

Jitesh Sharma further said, “Sanju bhaiya is a great player. I will have to compete with him, if that happens, I will have to give my best. We both are trying to play for Team India. We are like brothers. We have played a lot of cricket together and help me a lot. If I have to compete with him, play shoulder to shoulder, then I will have to show my A game.”

Also read:

MS Dhoni vegetarian or non-vegetarian? The old roommate told; Know what Mahi likes most to eat?

Rising Star Asia Cup 2025: In the first semi-final of Asia Cup Rising Star 2025, India A suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Bangladesh A in the Super Over. While chasing the target of 194 runs, the match was definitely tied, but the defeat in the super over changed the story of the entire match. This defeat left many big questions, was it the failure of the bowlers in the last overs, slowness in batting or the decision of captain Jitesh Sharma that got the team out? The truth of the match is that India A committed three big blunders, the price of which it had to pay by being out of the tournament.

Blunder No. 1: ’50 runs’ in the last two overs

India’s bowling was excellent in the beginning. Bangladesh’s run rate had slowed down considerably in the middle overs and it seemed that the team would stop at 155–160. However, the last two overs changed the entire match. Naman Dheer, who came to bowl the 19th over, gave away 28 runs in just 6 balls. In this over, SM Mehrob hit sixes, which gave huge momentum to Bangladesh. After this, Vijaykumar Vaishyak brought the 20th over and here also 22 runs were lost. Giving 50 runs in the last 12 balls proves to be suicidal for any team in the semi-finals, and this is what happened with India A.

Blunder number 2: Nehal Vadhera’s slow inning increased the pressure

The target was big, the match was a knockout and runs were needed on every ball. Meanwhile, Nehal Vadhera’s innings of only 32 runs in 29 balls proved to be costly for the team. While other batsmen were trying to maintain the run rate, Nehal was seen struggling continuously. Due to his slow innings, there was additional pressure on other batsmen and the team could not gain momentum at the crucial time. If Nehal had also rotated the strike or hit big shots, the match could have already gone to India A.

Blunder number 3: Captaincy of Jitesh Sharma

Winning the toss and bowling first was a big risk and it backfired. However, the biggest blow was given by the decision taken in the Super Over. Instead of sending Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya to the super over, who batted brilliantly in the match, captain Jitesh Sharma himself came forward. Being clean bowled on the very first ball puts a big question mark on his strategy. Ashutosh Sharma, who came forward, was also out without scoring and India A was reduced to zero in the Super Over. On the other hand, Bangladesh won the match with the help of just one wide.

For India A, this defeat was not just a match but the result of three big mistakes. Weak bowling in death overs, slow batting and captaincy mistakes. The team had the potential to reach the finals, but wrong decisions ruined all the hard work.

The Indian team is out of the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament. Team India had to face defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in the semi-final match played on Friday. In the Super Over, the Indian team lost both its wickets without scoring any runs, after which Bangladesh won due to a wide ball bowled by Suyyash Sharma. The decision of the Indian team is being heavily criticized that in-form batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi was not sent in the Super Over. Captain Jitesh Sharma himself has given a big statement on this.

Why didn’t Vaibhav send Suryavanshi?

Captain Jitesh Sharma said in the post match presentation ceremony, “In our team, Vaibhav and Priyansh are masters of powerplay, but Ashutosh Sharma and Ramandeep Singh have the experience of hitting big hits in the death overs. The line-up of the super over was the team’s decision, on which the final decision was taken by me.”

The captain took responsibility for the defeat

Taking responsibility for the defeat of the Indian team, Jitesh Sharma said, “It was a good match, we learned a lot. Being a senior player of the team, I take responsibility for the defeat. I should have won the match. This is not a matter of victory or defeat, it is a matter of learning. No one knows, who knows, these young players may win the World Cup trophy for India someday. The level of their talent is touching the sky. We have to learn from the mistakes and move forward.”

The Indian team had scored 3 runs on the last ball and brought the match to super over. The score of both the teams was 194 runs. When it came to Super Over, the Indian team lost both the wickets without scoring any runs. In reply, Suyyash Sharma took the wicket of Bangladesh on the first ball, but he bowled the next ball wide.

Also read:

IND vs SA: The match did not last even for 3 days in Kolkata, how many runs will be scored in Guwahati? pitch report of the second test

Bangladesh A has made it to the final by defeating India A in the first semi-final of Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025. The bowling of this team captained by Jitesh Sharma was very poor, due to which Bangladesh was able to reach a big score of 194. Although the bright start of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya had made the match, till the end Team India was close to victory but then lagged behind. Despite this, the team was successful in equalizing the score, after which the match reached the super over.

Bangladesh won in super over

According to the rules, the team that bats first has to bat second in the super over. Due to this, India had to bat first, but the performance of Team India’s batsmen in the Super Over was shameful. Jitesh Sharma and Ashutosh Sharma were out without scoring any runs in the first 2 balls, thus Bangladesh had to score only 1 run to win. However, no batsman from Bangladesh could open his account in the super over.

So how did Bangladesh win?

Suyyash Sharma bowled the super over for India, he gave a great start by taking the wicket of Yasir Ali on the first ball. After this, captain Akbar Ali came on the field, but Suyyash bowled the next ball wide. In this way, no Bangladeshi player’s account was opened and Bangladesh also won.

What was Team India’s biggest mistake?

If we look at the biggest mistake of Team India in the semi-final defeat at the hands of Bangladesh, then it was the two overs bowled by Vaishakh Vijay Kumar and Naman Dhir. Naman bowled the 19th over, in which he gave away 28 runs. Vaishakh bowled the last over, in which 22 runs were lost. Due to this, Bangladesh, which was on the score of 144 after 18 overs, was able to reach the total of 194.

While chasing the target, Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored 38 runs in 15 balls, in which he hit 4 sixes and 2 fours. He went after doing his work, after this Priyansh Arya also batted well. He scored 44 runs in 23 balls with the help of 3 sixes and 4 fours. Jitesh Sharma scored 33 runs in 23 balls and Nehal Wadhera scored unbeaten 32 runs in 29 balls, although they could not lead the team to victory. India needed 4 runs to win on the last ball, yet due to the mistake of Bangladesh’s wicket keeper, India got 3 runs and the match was tied.

Rising Star Asia Cup: In the Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025, India A has secured the semi-final ticket by defeating Oman by 7 wickets in the last league match. Under the captaincy of Jitesh Sharma, the Indian team did wonders by bowling first in this do or die match. After that and with the responsible batting of the middle order, the target of 136 runs was achieved in just 17.5 overs. With this win, India A secured second place in Group B and made it to the knockouts.

How was the journey of the group stage?

The group stage has been full of ups and downs for India A. The team won the first match against UAE by a big margin. However, in the second match, Pakistan Shaheen defeated him. Then the third match against Oman was like a quarter-final, semi-final if you win, out if you lose. Handling the pressure, the team easily defeated Oman and cleared its path.

Now who will India A face in the semi-finals?

India A has finished second in Group B with 4 points, while Pakistan Shaheen is on top with 6 points. According to the rules, the number 2 team of Group B (India A) will face the number 1 team of Group A. Whereas Pakistan Shaheen will face the number 2 team of Group A in the semi-finals.

Now let’s talk about Group A. Here Bangladesh A has won both its matches and secured 4 points and is at the top of the table. His last match is against Sri Lanka A. If Bangladesh A wins this match also, then it will have 6 points and will remain on the top. In such a situation, India A’s semi-final match with Bangladesh A is considered fixed.

What might change the equation?

What will happen if Sri Lanka A pulls off an upset and beats Bangladesh A? Due to this, the picture becomes clear when we look at the run rate.

Bangladesh A’s run rate: is +4.079

Run Rate of Sri Lanka A: +1.384

This means that even after winning, Sri Lanka cannot leave Bangladesh behind in run rate. This is the reason why Bangladesh’s stay at the top is considered almost certain. Therefore, without any big miracle, it is clear that India A will face Bangladesh A in the semi-finals, while Pakistan Shaheen will face either Sri Lanka A or Afghanistan.

Both India A and Bangladesh A teams are in great form in this tournament. In such a situation, a high-voltage clash will be seen in the semi-finals.

In the ACC Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars match played on Sunday, Pakistan A team defeated Indian A team by 8 wickets. After this, a shocking claim was made on social media that after the match was over, the Indian players had gone to shake hands with the Pakistani players, but the players of the Pakistan team left from there. Know the truth of this viral claim, a video of it is also going viral on social media.

The ‘No Handshake’ controversy was first seen in the Asia Cup, when Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with Salman Ali Aga at the toss and refused to shake hands with Pakistan players even after winning the match. It was already anticipated that no handshake would continue in the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament on Sunday. However, the opposite was claimed.

NO WAY Indian players came to shake hands but Pakistani players just walked away India is getting a taste of its own medicine

— paty (nuke fascism) (@_midwicket) November 16, 2025

Posting on social media, a user wrote, “This cannot happen, Indian players came to shake hands with Pakistani players but the Pakistan team left from there. India got to taste its own bitter medicine.”

What is the truth of the viral claim?

However, the viral claim and the truth are completely different. A video also surfaced on social media, in which Pakistani players are shaking hands with each other without any haste. Their support staff are also shaking hands, this clearly shows that no player or staff member from India went to shake hands with Pakistan, nor tried to. So this claim is completely wrong.

holdpic.twitter.com/1EutguZx53 https://t.co/HwaXOOx4cI

— paty (nuke fascism) (@_midwicket) November 16, 2025

Won the match by 8 wickets

Talking about the match, batting first, the entire India A team was all out for 136 runs in 19 overs. Vaibhav Suryavanshi played a good inning of 45 runs in 28 balls, but the other opener Priyansh Arya was out after scoring only 10 runs. After this Naman Dheer scored 35 runs in 20 balls. However, the middle order was a complete flop, captain Jitesh Sharma could score only 5 runs. Nehal Vadhera could not even open 8 accounts and Ashutosh Sharma could not open the account.

Chasing the target, Pakistan won in 13.2 overs. Pakistan’s opener Maaz Sadaqat scored unbeaten 79 runs in 47 balls, in this innings he hit 4 sixes and 7 fours.

IND vs PAK: India and Pakistan were face to face in the high-voltage match of Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025, but along with the match, a big controversy also remained in the headlines. Pakistan won the match by 8 wickets, but during the match, there was a huge uproar on the field regarding the controversial catch of Maaz Sadaqat. The Indian team and captain Jitesh Sharma looked so angry with the umpire’s decision that the game even stopped for some time.

How not out even after taking the catch?

Suyyash Sharma was bowling in the 10th over. Maaz Sadaqat hit a big shot on the very first ball. Nehal Vadhera standing at the boundary made a brilliant effort and caught the ball in the air. When he lost his balance, he threw the ball towards Naman Dheer standing inside the boundary, and Dheer completed the catch. Team India felt that it had got the wicket, the players started celebrating. However, the third umpire after seeing the replays gave a big decision – Sadaqat not out.

It was all happening in Qatar And things got pretty heated in the middle…

Watch India A take on Pakistan A in #AsiaCupRisingStars2025 – LIVE NOW on #SonyLIV and #SonySportsNetwork TV channels pic.twitter.com/OZ56KQYxf0

— Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) November 16, 2025

Jitesh Sharma’s argument with the umpire

Immediately after the decision, Indian captain Jitesh Sharma angrily confronted the umpire. Jitesh was seen arguing a lot regarding his decision. Even after so much of their argument, the umpire could not change his decision as per the rules and Sadaqat remained at the crease.

ICC’s new rule became the cause of controversy

According to the new fielding rules of ICC applicable from October 2025:

1- The fielder can touch the ball once outside the boundary while it is in the air.

2- A catch will be considered valid only if he regains control inside the field before touching or leaving the ball.

In this entire matter, it was believed that Nehal Vadhera did not return to the field after throwing the ball in and had himself gone out of the boundary. For this reason the catch did not fall in the category of “fair catch” and Sadaqat was declared not out.

match status

Despite the controversy, Maaz Sadaqat’s game was excellent. He scored unbeaten 79 runs in 47 balls and gave Pakistan victory in just 13.2 overs. Sadaqat hit 7 fours and 4 sixes and also took 2 wickets in bowling.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi played a brilliant inning of 45 runs for India. While Naman Dheer contributed 35 runs. India’s innings faltered as soon as Vaibhav was out. The entire team was all out for 136 runs.

Rising Star Asia Cup: India had recently created history by winning the Asia Cup 2025, but now Team India is ready for another Asian tournament. However, till now the ACC and PCB Chairman have not formally handed over the last Asia Cup trophy to India, but in the meantime another big news has come out for the cricket lovers, Rising Star Asia Cup 2025 will be played in Doha (Qatar) from 14th November, while the final match will be held on 23rd November. BCCI has announced India’s A team for this tournament, in which many young and emerging players have been given a chance.

Jitesh Sharma will take over the captaincy

Indian selectors have made wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma the captain of this tournament. Jitesh, who is known for his aggressive batting and calm nature, will now captain Team India A for the first time at the international level.

Along with him, Naman Dheer has been made the vice-captain. Dhir has performed brilliantly in the domestic circuit and has also made his mark with his aggressive innings in the IPL.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ashutosh Sharma got a chance

Rising Star Asia Cup is being considered as a big platform for the emerging players of Asia. This time many young names have been included in the Indian team. Players like Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Priyansh Arya, and Ashutosh Sharma will wear the Indian jersey for the first time in this tournament. The recent domestic performance of all of them has been excellent, and BCCI is hopeful that these players can become a part of the senior team in the future.

There will be an exciting clash with Pakistan

The biggest attraction for the fans will be the match between India and Pakistan, which will be played in Doha on 17th November. As always, this match between the two countries will be full of thrill and emotions. The young team of India would like to show the strength of its new generation in Asia by winning this match.

India vs Australia 3rd T20 is being played in Hobart. Suryakumar Yadav and team are behind 0-1 in the series. To maintain the hopes of winning the series, Team India has to win today at any cost. In this match, the team took tough decisions and made 3 changes in the playing 11. Today, Jitesh Sharma is playing as a wicket-keeper batsman in place of Sanju Samson.

Harshit Rana also out

Along with Abhishek Sharma, it was Harshit Rana who batted somewhat effectively in the second T20. Although his bowling was ordinary, he was included in the team as an additional batting option, but this was also criticized a lot. Harshit Rana is also not playing in the third T20.

These 3 changes

Arshdeep Singh has been included in India’s playing 11 today. Along with him, Washington Sundar and Jitesh Sharma also got a chance today. Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav have been left out.

India’s playing 11

Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Verma, Axar Patel, Shivam Dubey, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakraborty, Jasprit Bumrah.

One change in Australia’s playing 11

The hero of the last match, Josh Hazlewood, is no longer a part of this series, he was included in the team only for the first 2 matches. Sean Abbott is playing in his place in the third T20.

Playing 11: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wicket-keeper), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Matt Short, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Sean Abbott, Matt Kuhneman.

Host Australia is leading 1-0 in the series. If Australia wins today, then Team India will not be able to win this series again, even after winning the last 2 matches, Suryakumar Yadav’s team will only be able to draw the 5-match series. Australia has won all its 5 T20 matches played earlier on this ground in Hobart, whereas Team India is playing its first T20 here today.