On Saturday, June 29, the Indian cricket team won the T20 World Cup for the second-time in history after defeating South Africa by seven runs in the final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. Following the title triumph, the three of the stalwarts of Team India, namely Virat Kohli, the captain Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja, announced their retirement from the T20I format.
With that, there will be a few changes in the India T20I team in the coming weeks and months, which is going to kick-start a new era in the format for the reigning champions. In this article, SportsTiger looks at India’s probable playing XI for the T20 World Cup 2026.
Openers: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal
In the opening slot, there are a lot of great candidates who could take the Indian T20I team forward after the departure of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, but the first couple of names are Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made the trip to the Americas to be a part of the T20 World Cup 2024 squad after splendid starts to their international careers in the shortest format of the game. Gill was the travelling reserve, while Yashasvi Jasiwal was in the main squad for India without getting a game in the tournament.
Middle Order: Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Rinku Singh
Rishabh Pant didn’t have the best of T20 World Cup 2024 with the bat, but his wicket-keeping skills were quite unmatched in the tournament, which is why he is expected to continue playing for India in the number three slot in the T20I format. Suryakumar Yadav is one of the top ranked Indian batters in the T20Is, who can play a vital role of holding the innings together or attacking from the get-go, depending on the situation of the game.
Hardik Pandya was one of the biggest reasons why India went on to win the T20 World Cup last month with his all-round skills, and he has been a captain for the national team in the format in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Rinku Singh barely missed the cut to be a part of the Indian team in the tournament, but he did make the trip to the Americas as a travelling reserve after an exceptional start to his T20I career.
All-rounders: Axar Patel
Axar Patel grew in stature as a cricketer in the T20 World Cup 2024, playing a vital role in India’s title triumph with the bat, ball, and in the field. The left-handed batter was often promoted up the order by the Indian team management when the going got tough in the tournament, and he went on to put the side in a strong position more often than not.
Tailenders: Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Arshdeep Singh was the joint highest wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup 2024, proving his worth as an all phases bowler in the T20I format. Kuldeep Yadav utilised the spin-friendly conditions in the Caribbean conditions to the max in the tournament, picking up key wickets in middle overs.
Jasprit Bumrah was given the player of the tournament award for his splendid showing with the ball in the T20 World Cup 2024, picking up 15 wickets at an economy of 4.17, playing a major role for India in winning the tournament. Mohammed Siraj has improved by leaps and bounds as a T20 bowler in the past couple of years, featuring in the first half of the tournament, where his performances were quite decent.