The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will announce India’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 early next month.
According to a report published in PTI, the BCCI’s senior men’s selection committee will unveil the squad for India’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand and T20 World Cup on the same date, which is likely to be in the first week of January 2026.
The report also claimed that India’s squad for the New Zealand series as well as the global showpiece will be the same.
“The squad that will be selected for the New Zealand T20Is will be the same that will be named for the T20 World Cup," a BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI.
The five-match T20I series against New Zealand will be the final dress rehearsal for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, the matches of which will be played from February 7 to March 8 across five venues in India and three in Sri Lanka.
India will begin their T20 World Cup title defence against the USA in Mumbai on February 7. They then take on Namibia in Delhi on February 12. The Men in Blue will travel to Colombo to face arch-rivals Pakistan on February 15, while their final group game is scheduled against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad on February 18.
With less than a month remaining for the squad announcement, India sipper Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill are facing a lot of criticism for their poor show with the bat.
Suryakumar’s batting numbers have fallen drastically ever since assuming the T20I captaincy. He has managed to score only 213 runs across 20 matches and 18 innings in 2025, averaging just over 14, with the best score of 47* to his credit.
On the other hand, Gill’s return to the T20I fold as vice-captain during the Asia Cup 2025 didn’t yield best of returns as he scored only 127 runs in seven innings at an average of 21.16 and a strike rate of 151.19. The right-hander failed to make a mark in the subsequent five T20Is on the tour of Australia, amassing 132 runs at a strike rate of 136.08 without a half-century.
The duo is currently featuring in the five-T20I series against South Africa at home. Having endured failures in the first three games, they will look to finish the series on a high in Lucknow and Ahmedabad.
(With PTI Inputs)
