The 2024 T20 WC winners, India are going through a phase of new beginnings. The Era of T20 Cricket in India is changing. With prominent Indian stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retiring from T20 internationals, it is time for the new generation to step up and prove themselves on the world stage in Indian colours. Many of the youngsters on the verge of Indian selection in T20I’s will have one and only one destination in mind. The T20 WC 2026, is going to be held in India and every youngster will hope to play a pivotal part in what could be their first major international tournament for India.
Even BCCI would now be focussing on bringing up the new talent which had till now been sidelined due to the sheer quality of players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, etc. The upcoming Zimbabwe tour is the first step in recognising such talent and then further giving them chances against even better opponents. Players like Harshit Rana, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, and Ruturaj Gaikwad, will surely be looked at very closely and their performances will be definitely noted down. Shubhman Gill will lead this young and inexperienced Indian contingent against Zimbabwe in what will be the start of his grooming phase to take up the mantle of the Indian captain later down the line.
While there will be a lot of supply of young Indian talent, the Indian Squad for the 2026 WC will feature veterans like Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Mohammad Siraj, and Hardik Pandya who will most likely be India’s skipper. With the back-to-back retirements of Indian legends, it will be a tough job to fill in their presence. But if there is any team that can do it. It’s Team India. And so it’s very important to start building for the future with the 2026 WC in mind.
Rough look of the T20 WC 2026 Squad
While there’s a long time to go for an event that is still 2 years away, here is what a probable squad could look like.
Top Order batsmen: This is the position that will have the maximum number of new faces. With Rohirat’s retirement from the format, the vacancy to fill is immense. And those who fill their vacancy sufficiently enough will most likely stand a chance to be a 3-format player for India moving forward. Some candidates for these positions could be Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Abhishek Sharma, and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Middle and/or Lower middle order: This is where India is most definitely stacked with talent and experience everywhere you look. Veterans like Hardik Pandya, SKY, and even Axar Patel(somewhat of a like-for-like replacement for Ravindra Jadeja), are already manning the middle order. And players like Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul will most definitely be given opportunities as well. But amongst the new flux of players coming in, Rinku Singh and Riyan Parag are two guys who can slot in if they perform well in the opportunities given to them.
Bowling unit: With Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, and Arshdeep Singh, India’s pace bowling seems to be almost too good in T20I’s, but there is a new guy on the circuit who lit up the IPL with his guile and aggression, Harshit Rana. And when it comes to the spin department, It’s hard to look past Ravi Bishnoi whose credit has been due for a long time now. And T20 WC 2026, might be the right International tournament for him to shine like never before.
