20 December,2025 03:10 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Abhishek Sharma (Pic: File Pic)
The T20 World Cup 2026 is all set to be hosted in India and Sri Lanka. The marquee event is scheduled to kick start from February 7.
The defending champions, Team India, will open their global showpiece campaign by playing a match against the United States of America (USA) on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The "Men in Blue" will lock horns against Namibia on February 12 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The high-octane match between arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, is scheduled to be played on February 15 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. India will conclude their group stage matches by playing a clash against the Netherlands on February 18 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Ahead of the tournament, Team India's management has dropped Shubman Gill from the squad. In his absence, star all-rounder Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain.
Along with Gill, opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal has also been sidelined, despite tasting success in the format.
Swashbuckling batsman Abhishek Sharma has been given a nod ahead of Jaiswal, and Ishan Kishan has made his return to India's set-up. Recently, Kishan led Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title. In the final match against Haryana, the left-hander smashed a century in just 45 deliveries.
India's squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 will also play a five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The series will begin from January 21, with the first match scheduled to be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
The marquee tournament will conclude on March 8, with the top two teams clashing against each other for the elusive title. The venue of the final match is yet to be confirmed. It will be interesting to see if the "Men in Blue" manage to defend their T20 World Cup title.
India's squad for T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (WK).
