Who Can Replace Tilak Varma In Team India: About a month before the start of the T20 World Cup 2026, a bad news has emerged for the Indian cricket team. Due to the emergency surgery of Team India’s star middle order batsman Tilak Verma, the team is now looking for a new middle order batsman. This has become a big challenge for the Indian team, but the bench strength of Team India is so strong that there are many strong contenders to replace Tilak. Here we are going to tell you about those 5 players who can fill the place of Tilak Verma.

These 5 players are strong contenders to replace Tilak Verma

1. Shreyas Iyer

Indian ODI team vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is an experienced player. He has a lot of experience in international cricket. Shreyas has already played in the middle order for Team India in T20 International. At the same time, he scored runs in IPL 2025 at a strike rate of more than 170. Under his captaincy the Punjab team also reached the finals. In such a situation, apart from batting, he also has leadership qualities.

2.Devdutt Padikkal

Devdutt Padikkal is in amazing form in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. This season, he has scored a total of 640 runs in just 7 matches at an average of 91.42, which includes 4 centuries and 1 half-century. Although Padikkal is a top order batsman, it is difficult to ignore his current form.

3. Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan is known as an explosive opening batsman, but his versatility allows him to play as a dynamic batsman in the middle-order. Kishan can play aggressively against the spinners from the very beginning, due to which he becomes a dangerous batsman. Recently he has also performed brilliantly in domestic cricket.

4. Nitish Kumar Reddy

Nitish Kumar Reddy is a player who can increase the batting depth of the team and can also provide bowling options. Nitish is known for scoring fast runs in the middle order. Nitish also has the experience of batting in the middle order in the IPL and has also scored a lot of runs while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

5. Dhruv Jurel

Dhruv Jurel has made his place in the Indian Test. Especially by scoring a century against West Indies at the end of the year 2025, but his white ball game is also equally sharp. Dhruv is currently in excellent form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will start from February 7, 2026, hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Some other teams including India, South Africa, Australia and England have also announced their World Cup team for this tournament. Five big names are missing among the teams which have announced the names of players for the World Cup. All of them have been dropped. Here we are going to tell you about those 5 big name players, who have been dropped by their teams. He will no longer be seen playing in the T20 World Cup 2026.

These 5 big players dropped from T20 World Cup squad

1. Shubman Gill – India

Team India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill has been dropped from India’s T20 World Cup squad. However, before the World Cup, Gill was not only a part of India’s T20 International team but was also the vice-captain, but due to his continuous poor performance in T20 Internationals, he has not been included in the team.

2. Mitchell Owen – Australia

Australia’s star young all-rounder Mitchell Owen has also not been included in the T20 World Cup Australian team. Owen has so far played 13 T20 International matches for Australia. Owen is a brilliant player in this format, who along with fast batting also bowls medium fast.

3. Ryan Rickelton – South Africa

South African wicketkeeper batsman Ryan Rickelton has also not got a place in the South African team for the T20 World Cup. He was a part of the team in the T20 World Cup held in the year 2024. At the same time, he also performed well on Indian pitches while playing for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2025. This season Rickelton had scored a total of 388 runs in 14 matches.

4. Tristan Stubbs – South Africa

South Africa’s star middle order batsman Tristan Stubbs has also not been able to make his place in the South African team for the T20 World Cup 2026. Stubbs has performed well while playing for Delhi Capitals in the last two seasons of IPL. Stubbs was also a part of the South African team in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

5. Liam Livingstone – England

England’s experienced all-rounder Liam Livingstone has also not been included in England’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. Livingstone is known for his explosive batting and hitting long sixes, apart from this, he also bowls. Livingstone has good experience of Indian pitches from playing in IPL, which could perhaps have been useful to England in the World Cup.

The matches of 2026 T20 World Cup will be played in India and Sri Lanka. While matches will be played in five cities of India, matches will be played at three venues in Sri Lanka. In such a situation, people want to know who is the host nation of the 2026 T20 World Cup., Is the 2026 T20 World Cup being played in hybrid model?, Will only Pakistan’s matches be held in Sri Lanka?, Here you will get answers to all such questions.

The 2026 T20 World Cup will start from 7 February. The final match of this global tournament will be played on March 8. Both India and Sri Lanka are joint host countries of the 2026 T20 World Cup. All the matches of this Mahakumbh of cricket will be played in Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Colombo and Kandy. This time a total of 20 teams will participate in this tournament, which have been divided into four groups.

2026 In the T20 World Cup, 3 matches will be played on the first day i.e. on 7th February. Pakistan’s match will be with Netherlands. India will face USA and West Indies will face Bangladesh. At present a new controversy is arising regarding Bangladesh. Bangladesh has demanded to play its matches outside India. ICC has not yet responded on this.

20 teams divided into 4 groups

Group A- India, Pakistan, USA, Netherlands and Namibia

Group B- Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Oman

Group C- England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal and Italy

Group D- New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada and UAE

Not only Pakistan’s matches but in Sri Lanka

Many people thought that only Pakistan team would play its matches in Sri Lanka. Here let us tell you that this is not the case at all. Australia vs Zimbabwe match, Sri Lanka vs Oman match, USA vs Netherlands match, Ireland vs Oman match, England vs Bangladesh match, India vs Pakistan match, Australia vs Sri Lanka match, Ireland vs Zimbabwe match, Pakistan vs Namibia match, Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe match and Australia vs Oman match will be played in Sri Lanka. All these matches are of league stage. After this, many Super-8 matches will also be held in Sri Lanka.

The venue of the semi-finals and finals is a matter of concern.

If Pakistan team qualifies in the semi-finals and final, then the semi-finals and title match will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. If Pakistan is not in the semi-finals then both the semi-finals will be played in Kolkata and Mumbai. The final will be held at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. If Pakistan enters the final then the final will be played in Sri Lanka only.

Afghanistan Announce Their Squad For T20 World Cup 2026: Afghanistan Cricket Board announced its 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka. In this tournament, Afghanistan team will be captained by star leg spinner Rashid Khan and opening batsman Ibrahim Zadran has been made the vice-captain. The Afghanistan team had performed amazingly in the 2024 T20 World Cup, due to which the Afghan team was successful in reaching the semi-finals.

Naveen Ul Haq returns to the team after a long time

Afghanistan’s veteran player Mohammad Nabi has also been included in the team, who is going to turn 41 on January 1, 2026. Naveen Ul Haq and Gulbadin Naib have also returned to the team, which will make their bowling line-up even stronger. Naveen has not played any match for Afghanistan in the year 2025 and due to injury he could not even play the Asia Cup. Both of them had performed amazingly for the team in the last T20 World Cup.

Allah Ghazanfar included in reserve players

19 year old mystery spinner Allah Ghazanfar has failed to make a place in the team. He has been included among the three reserve players. Apart from Allah, Ijaz Ahmadzai and Zia ur Rehman Sharifi have been kept among the reserve players. Before the T20 World Cup, Afghanistan team will play a series against West Indies. This series will be played in Sharjah from January 19 to 22, 2026.

Afghanistan team present in difficult group

Afghanistan team has been placed in Group D in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Teams from New Zealand, South Africa, UAE and Canada are present in it. Due to having two strong teams, it will not be easy for Afghanistan. Afghanistan will face New Zealand in its first match on 8 February in Chennai. After this, it will play against South Africa on 11th February at Narendra Modi Stadium.

Afghanistan squad for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026: Rashid Khan (captain), Ibrahim Zadran (vice-captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Ishaq (wicketkeeper), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Umarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmed, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Naveen Ul Haq, Fazal Haq Farooqui and Abdullah. Ahmedzai.

The organization of 2026 T20 World Cup is about a month away. The tournament will start from 7th February, while the final match will be played on 8th March. One by one the teams are announcing their World Cup squads. Till now, a total of 5 countries including India and England have declared their squads.

A total of 20 countries will participate in the World Cup, which will be divided into 4 groups of five teams each. The teams finishing in the top-2 of the four groups will enter the Super-8 stage, after which again the eight teams will be divided into 2 groups. The teams finishing in the top 2 of their respective groups in the Super-8 stage will enter the semi-finals. The final of the T20 World Cup will be played on March 8. See here which teams have declared their World Cup squads so far.

Which teams have announced squads so far:

India

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

England

Harry Brook (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethel, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tong, Luke Wood.

Sri Lanka (Preliminary Squad)

Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Dhananjay de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Zenith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Pawan Ratnayake, Sahan Arachige, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellage, Milan Rathnayake, Nuwan Thushara, Ishan Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan, Mathisha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Mahesh Teekshana, Dushan Hemantha, Vijaykant Vyaskant, Travin Mathew

afghanistan

Rashid Khan (captain), Noor Ahmed, Abdullah Ahmedzai, Sediqullah Atal, Fazalhaq Farooqui, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Naveen Ul Haq, Mohammad Ishaq, Shahidullah Kamal, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Umarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Darwish Rasooli, Ibrahim Zadran,

Reserve Players: AM Ghazanfar, Ijaz Ahmadzai and Zia Ur Rehman Sharifi

oman

Jatinder Singh (captain), Vinayak Shukla, Mohammad Nadeem, Shakeel Ahmed, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonawale, Shah Faesal, Nadeem Khan, Sufyan Mahmood, Jai Odedara, Shafiq Jan, Ashish Odedara, Jiten Ramanandi, Hasnain Ali Shah

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Afghanistan announces team for 2026 T20 World Cup, Rashid Khan captain; These 15 players got place