Indias T20 World Cup squad announced: Shubman Gill dropped, Ishan Kishan returns after SMAT heroics

Vice-captain Shubman Gill was left out as India announced their 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 on Saturday, December 20. Ishan Kishan replaced Gill in the squad after his terrific show for Jharkhand in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. Rinku Singh also made his comeback in the squad, while Washington Sundar was retained.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia announced the squad in the presence of chief selector Ajit Agarkar and skipper Suryakumar Yadav after a meeting at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. Gill's exclusion might come as a surprise to many, however, it was on the cards amid the right-hander's poor show for India in T20Is.

Since making his T20I comeback during the Asia Cup 2025 earlier this year, Gill managed only 291 runs in 15 innings, with the highest score of 47. After his return to the T20I setup, Sanju Samson, who formed a destructive opening pairing with Abhishek Sharma, had to be slotted in the middle order, where he failed to deliver.

Samson opened for India in the absence of Gill in the 5th T20I against South Africa in Ahmedabad on Friday and is likely to be India's first-choice opener in the T20 World Cup next year. While Samson will replace Gill as an opener, the selectors have named Axar Patel as India's vice-captain for the T20 World Cup 2026 after the star batter's axing.

Apart from Gill, wicket-keeper batter Jitesh Sharma has also been dropped from the squad. Jitesh was being backed as the finisher in the side, however, the team management has decided to bring back Rinku for the role, while retaining Washington as the third all-rounder alongside Axar and Hardik Pandya.

India's core looks pretty settled with Abhishek, Samson, skipper Suryakumar and Tilak Varma forming the top order. Shivam Dube, Hardik and Axar will form the middle order, with Rinku likely to be the back-up. Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack consisting of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, while Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy are the two specialist spinners in the side.

The same squad will take part in India's upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand at home. The T20I series between India and New Zealand will get underway on January 21 and conclude on January 31. The five-match series will be India's final T20I assignment before the T20 World Cup 2026, which is set to begin on 07 February.

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vc), Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wk)

Kishan has been rewarded for his heroics for Jharkhand in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. The explosive left-hand wicket-keeper batter smashed 517 runs in 10 matches at a stunning strike rate of 197.32, including two centuries and as many fifties to powerJharkhand to their maiden title.

Kishan led his team from the front and finished as the highest run-getter in the tournament, leaving selectors with no choice but to hand him a recall in the T20I setup. The left-hander last played for India in November 2023, before being sidelined due to alleged disciplinary reasons and was stripped off BCCI central contract for not prioritising domestic cricket.

Kishan is now back in the T20I setup after enjoying a stellar SMAT 2025 campaign for Jharkhand and will be hoping to make the most of his chances in the upcoming New Zealand T20I series to stake a claim for a permanent spot in the playing XI in the T20 World Cup 2026.

Rinku has also made his comeback in the squad after getting ignored for the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa. Jitesh Sharma was preffered over Rinku as a finisher in the team, however, the selectors have gone back to the left-hander, who has done well in ther role and was part of India's Asia Cup winning team earlier this year.