The Indian team has been announced for the 2026 T20 World Cup, due to which the exclusion of Shubman Gill was much talked about. Now former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has prepared a squad for the T20 World Cup of those players who have not been selected in the original squad of the World Cup. The surprising thing is that Chopra has also kept Shubman Gill out of his 13-member squad. Besides, he has also prepared an alternative playing eleven for the World Cup.

Aakash Chopra handed over the responsibility of opening to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rituraj Gaikwad. Akash believes that Gaikwad is an excellent batsman, on the other hand, according to him, it is unfortunate that Jaiswal has been dropped from the team despite his explosive batting and being in form. He has also selected KL Rahul, he can also be seen as an opening option.

Shreyas Iyer captain, this batsman in middle order

Aakash Chopra made Shreyas Iyer the captain. He has included 3 wicketkeeper batsmen in his squad in the form of Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Jitesh Sharma. Jitesh had made the most of the opportunities he got in the recent T20 series against Australia and South Africa, yet he did not get a place in the actual World Cup squad. Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan have been selected as wicketkeepers in the real World Cup squad. He has handed over the role of fast bowling all-rounder to Nitish Kumar Reddy. Krunal Pandya will play the role of spin bowling all-rounder in his team.

Return of veteran among bowlers

In the alternate squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, Aakash Chopra has selected Yuzvendra Chahal as the main spinner, who has not played any international match for Team India after August 2023. Apart from Deepak Chahar and Mohammad Siraj, he has selected Bhuvneshwar Kumar for fast bowling. Kumar has 90 wickets in T20, but he has not played any T20 match for the Indian team after November 2022. At the same time, Mohammed Shami, who is out of Team India, has also been given a place in the team by Aakash Chopra.

Aakash Chopra’s alternate squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Rishabh Pant, Jitesh Sharma, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

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Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 has started with records and stormy innings. On the very first day, the batsmen showed such brilliance that domestic cricket suddenly came into limelight. After Bihar’s young Vaibhav Suryavanshi and captain Saqibul Ghani, Ishan Kishan has now become the center of discussion. Playing for Jharkhand, Ishan Kishan made it clear by scoring a century in just 33 balls that he is not going to take his return to Team India lightly.

Ishaan’s havoc in front of Karnataka

The match was played between Karnataka and Jharkhand at Narendra Modi Stadium (B Ground) in Ahmedabad. Karnataka is the defending champion of this tournament, but its bowlers looked helpless in front of Ishan Kishan. Ishaan came to bat at number six and adopted an aggressive style as soon as he came. He completed his half-century in just 20 balls and after that increased the pace further. Ishaan did not stop even after completing his century in 33 balls. He scored 125 runs in a total of 39 balls. During this, 7 fours and 14 skyscraper sixes came from his bat.

The news about the bowlers was very good

Ishan Kishan targeted fast bowler Vijaykumar Vaishak the most. Ishaan scored 40 runs in just 11 balls. Apart from this, Ishaan completely turned the match towards Jharkhand by scoring 25 runs in one over of Vidyadhar Patil and 24 runs against Abhilash Shetty.

Special list of fastest centuries in List A cricket

This innings of Ishan Kishan includes him in the list of batsmen who have scored the fastest List A century in India. Now his name is at second place in this list.

1. Saqibul Ghani- century in 32 balls
2. Ishan Kishan- Century in 33 balls
3. Anmolpreet Singh- century in 35 balls
4. Vaibhav Suryavanshi- century in 36 balls
5. Yusuf Pathan- century in 40 balls

Return to Team India after two years

27 year old Ishan Kishan has not been a part of Team India for the last 2 years. He played his last international match in 2023. Recently he has been selected in the team of T20 World Cup 2026. This was his first match in Vijay Hazare Trophy and he made it memorable. This is Ishaan’s seventh century in List A cricket. Before this, he has also scored a double century in ODI cricket.

Shubhman Gill has not got a place in the team for T20 World Cup 2026, which was surprising for the fans. Test and ODI captain Gill was the vice-captain in the T20 series against South Africa, his performance was not good. Gill got injured during this period, but he was dropped from the World Cup not because of injury. Now a report has revealed that BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia had called a secret meeting, in which the performance of the players was discussed.

When Shubman Gill was not playing T20, Sanju Samson was opening with Abhishek Sharma. With the arrival of Gill, Sanju had to come to bat lower in the order, but now questions are being raised whether it was necessary to include Gill in a strong team.

BCCI secret meeting

According to the report of News 18, BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia had called a secret meeting after the T20 match against South Africa in Dharamshala. In this there was discussion on the performance of the players. Before selecting the World Cup squad, the Secretary had asked for a report on the performance of the players from the Chief Selector. This meeting was important before the selection of the T20 World Cup 2026 team, which was kept completely confidential.

Questions raised on Shubman Gill’s poor form

Shubman Gill became the captain of the Test team this year. His first Test series as Test captain was in England, in which he performed brilliantly with the bat. Gill had scored 754 runs. After this, Gill was also given the captaincy of the ODI team and was made the vice-captain of the T20 team. But the end of the year was not good for Gill, he could score a total of 32 runs in 3 T20 matches against South Africa.

Shubman Gill was ruled out of the fourth T20 due to injury, although this match did not take place due to fog in Lucknow. After this, he also remained out of the fifth T20 played in Ahmedabad on 19 December. A day after this, on December 20, the team for T20 World Cup 2026 was announced in the press conference.

Discussion on Gill’s bad record

According to the report, in this secret meeting of BCCI, Shubman Gill’s poor T20 record this year and his average were discussed. During this period, names of players like Yashasvi Jaiswal also came up. It was said that Gill is in the team, but there is a question mark on the place of players like Yashasvi and Sanju Samson. In this meeting, it was decided that Gill will not be in the team for T20 World Cup 2026.

Gill had scored 4, 0 and 28 runs respectively in the first three T20s against South Africa. After this he suffered a leg injury and was out of the fourth and fifth T20. Let us tell you that Shubman Gill was also kept out of the T20 World Cup 2024, in which India became the champion by defeating South Africa in the final.

Indian squad for T20 World Cup 2026

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

Squads for the 2026 T20 World Cup are slowly starting to emerge. Till now India has declared its 15-member squad, while Sri Lanka has declared its preliminary squad, in which changes are still possible. The World Cup will be played from 7 February to 8 March next year. Meanwhile, England’s legendary spin bowler Monty Panesar has predicted the teams going to the last-4 of the T20 World Cup. Along with this, he has also made a big revelation about the next T20 captain of India.

Panesar’s prediction on semi-final teams

Monty Panesar predicted in a media interview, “This time India, Australia, South Africa and England will reach the semi-finals. England beats big teams, this is their strength. I don’t think New Zealand is a stronger team right now. South Africa and India are very strong, Australia and England are also good teams.”

Panesar made another shocking prediction and said that Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav will win the Player of the Series award. Suryakumar who has been struggling with poor form this year. Captain Suryakumar has scored only 218 runs in the last 19 T20 innings at a poor average of 13.62.

If India does not win the T20 World Cup, who will be the captain?

Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy record in T20 has been excellent. So far, under his captaincy, India has played 38 matches, in which it has won 28 matches and lost only 6 matches. While 2 matches were tied and two matches were drawn.

Panesar said that if India does not become T20 World Champion under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav, then Akshar Patel can become the new captain. According to Panesar, Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir likes all-rounder players, hence he has predicted that Akshar Patel will be made the captain, who can bowl as well as batting strongly.

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ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is going to start from 7th February in India and Sri Lanka. BCCI has announced the Indian team before the tournament. Suryakumar Yadav has been given the captaincy of the team, while Akshar Patel has been made the vice-captain. Many new faces are included in this team, but the special thing is that there are five players who have been a part of the T20 World Cup played in UAE in 2021. India’s performance in that tournament was disappointing and the team was out of the group stage. Now these same players will once again play the World Cup in a new role and under changed circumstances.

Ishaan Kishan

Wicketkeeper batsman Ishan Kishan was included in the Indian squad in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Although he played only one match in the entire tournament. He could score only 4 runs in that match. In 2026, Ishan has returned to the team as a more experienced player and will be expected to have a fast start and strength behind the wicket.

Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav also played in the 2021 T20 World Cup, but his bat did not work then. He scored a total of 42 runs in four matches. This time Suryakumar is not only the most important batsman of the team, but is also leading the team as the captain. The 2026 World Cup is being considered the biggest test of his career.

Varun Chakraborty

The 2021 T20 World Cup was no less than a nightmare for mystery spinner Varun Chakraborty. He played three matches, but could not take a single wicket. After this he remained out of the team for a long time. Now after a strong comeback, he has got a chance again and this time he will be expected to bowl effectively.

Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah was India’s most reliable bowler in the 2021 T20 World Cup. He had taken seven wickets in five matches. Bumrah has also played the 2016 T20 World Cup before this. Even in 2026, he will have a big responsibility of taking wickets and creating pressure in the death overs.

hardik pandya

Hardik Pandya was also a part of the 2021 T20 World Cup team. He did not appear fully fit in that tournament and could score 69 runs in only three innings in five matches. Now once again he is an important player of the team in the role of all-rounder and he will be expected to contribute with both bat and ball.

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).

The T20 World Cup 2026 match will be held between India and Sri Lanka in February, for which BCCI announced the team on Saturday. Ishan Kishan returned to the 15-member team under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav, who last played T20 International in 2023. Vice-captain Shubhman Gill has been dropped because his form was going bad for some time. But if we talk about the dropped players, they too can form a playing 11 that can give competition to any team.

If the playing 11 is made of the players who were not selected in the team, then it will be such that you will also think that this team can defeat anyone. This also testifies that India’s future in cricket is bright. Let us choose the playing 11 of such players.

Gill captain, Yashasvi’s opening partner

Shubman Gill can be the captain of this team, who is also the vice-captain of the national team. However, due to poor form, he was left out of the T20 World Cup squad. Yashasvi Jaiswal can start the innings with Gill, who has the ability to hit big shots from the first ball.

Rishabh Pant wicket keeper, Jitesh also included

In the last few matches, an experiment was also done in the national team, both the wicketkeepers were played. One of them was Jitesh Sharma, who has been with the team for a long time but could not make his place at the last moment. In the playing 11 of the players not selected, KL Rahul can be included at number three, Jitesh Sharma at number four and Rishabh Pant can be included as wicket keeper at number five.

2 experienced fast bowlers in the form of Shami and Siraj

Talking about all-rounders, Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy can be included in this playing 11. Reddy, who made his debut in October last year, played his last T20 International in January 2025. Chahal and Ravi Bishnoi can be the two spinners, Chahal is a very experienced bowler but he is not able to make a comeback in the national team.

Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami are being included as two fast bowlers, who have a lot of experience. However, Harbhajan Singh said during live on JioHotstar that Siraj should be prepared, he can get a chance any time. His reference was to the replacement of a player if he gets injured, that if someone is out then BCCI can look at him as an alternative.

Playing 11 of players not selected

1. Yashasvi Jaiswal
2. Shubman Gill (Captain)
3. KL Rahul
4. Jitesh Sharma
5. Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
6. Nitish Kumar Reddy
7. Shardul Thakur
8. Yuzvendra Chahal
9. Ravi Bishnoi
10. Mohammed Shami
11. Mohammad Siraj.

The Indian team has been announced for the T20 World Cup 2026, in which Ishan Kishan has been included as the second wicketkeeper. Ishaan has been selected in the T20 team after 2 years, meanwhile there is a whole story of a struggle. He also had to be released from the central contract of BCCI. Now Ishaan’s first reaction has come on his name being selected in the team.

Ishan Kishan’s first reaction

Ishan Kishan looked very happy after being selected in the T20 World Cup squad. Speaking to news agency ANI, Ishaan said, “I am very happy. Excited to join the team.” Kishan further said that the team is playing very well.

#WATCH Patna, Bihar , On his comeback to India’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Indian cricketer Ishan Kishan says, “I am very happy…” pic.twitter.com/R2oKsCd9U2

— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2025

Ishan Kishan also shared an Instagram story and wrote in the caption, “Back, better” i.e. return in a better way. Let us tell you that considering Ishaan’s recent form, he has been selected in the T20 World Cup squad, whereas due to his form, Shubman Gill was left out of the team.

Before the T20 World Cup, Ishan Kishan will return in the T20 series against New Zealand. Actually, the team announced on Saturday is also for the 5-match T20 series against New Zealand along with the World Cup. The first match of the T20 series will be played on 21 January, the last match of which will be played on 31 January.

Ishan Kishan’s performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was excellent, Jharkhand won its first title under his captaincy. Ishaan created history by playing a century in the final. He became the first captain to score a century in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He was the only batsman to score more than 500 runs in the tournament. He scored a total of 517 runs in 10 innings.

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

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

t20 world cup 2026 teams

Group A- India, Pakistan, America, Netherlands, Namibia

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

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

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

The bat of India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav has been silent for a long time. Suryakumar could score only 34 runs in the five-match T20 series against South Africa. This year no half-century came from his bat. Meanwhile, he is being continuously questioned about his poor form. Once again Suryakumar has responded regarding his form. This statement of Surya is going viral on social media.

Responding to news agency PTI, Suryakumar Yadav said, “My 14 soldiers are protecting me. They know what will happen when I explode. I am very positive and working hard, and I am sure all of you will do the same.” This statement of Surya is becoming quite viral on social media. Fans are sharing it a lot.

Only 34 runs in 4 innings against South Africa

Suryakumar Yadav could score only 34 runs in four innings of the five-match T20 series against South Africa. Suryakumar was out after scoring 12 runs in the first match of the series against South Africa. After the first T20 played in Cuttack, his form remained poor in New Chandigarh also. In the second T20 match, he was out after scoring 5 runs. After this, he could score only 12 runs in the third T20 match played in Dharamshala. After this, he scored only five runs in the fifth T20 match.

Year 2025 was like this for Suryakumar

The year 2025 has been no less than a nightmare for Suryakumar Yadav. This year, the batting average of India’s T20 captain was less than 14. He could score only 218 runs in 21 innings. Suryakumar could not score a single half-century in 2025. However, in IPL 2025, a lot of runs were scored from Suryakumar’s bat.

The 2026 T20 World Cup will be organized in the months of February and March. The first match of the World Cup will be played on 7 February and the final will be played on 8 March. India and Sri Lanka are going to host this month-long tournament together. Usually, being the host of a big tournament is beneficial in itself, but there are 3 such records which are presenting such evidence that the Indian team may not be able to win the title of 2026 T20 World Cup.

India will not be able to win the 2026 World Cup, these are 3 reasons

1. No country has won two consecutive World Cups

The first T20 World Cup was played in 2007, till now a total of 6 countries including India and Pakistan have become T20 world champions. India, England and West Indies are the three countries who have achieved the title of being T20 World Champions twice. But none of those teams could lift the trophy in two consecutive World Cup tournaments.

2. The host country has never won

Till now, T20 World Cup has been organized 9 times, but it has never happened when the host country has lifted the T20 World Cup trophy. India had earlier hosted the T20 World Cup in 2016, but Team India was out of the tournament that year after losing in the semi-finals. So far, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, England and Australia have won the T20 World Cup, but none of them have lifted the trophy as hosts.

3. Never defended trophy

The T20 format has got a total of 6 different world champions so far. In 2007, India became the world champion for the first time, but the next year Pakistan became the champion. Pakistan also could not defend its trophy in 2010, because England won the next time. After that West Indies and then Sri Lanka became world champions. Even after that, the same trend has continued that the team which became champion last time, has never been able to defend its tag of being champion.

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