The Indian Cricket Team succeeded in winning the previous edition of the T20 World Cup under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. Now, they will enter the upcoming edition as the defending champion. The T20 World Cup 2026 is scheduled to be played between February 7 and March 8 in India and Sri Lanka.
Without a doubt, India will enter the tournament as top contenders. They are the no. 1 ranked T20I side and have been winning T20 series consecutively. The squad for the coming ICC event will be announced through a press release on Saturday at 1:30 PM IST. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee will announce the squad for the mega event.
There are several ifs and buts regarding the Indian squad, as under the coaching of Gautam Gambhir, India have made changes consistently. The batting lineup is not settled, and the form of Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav is still a concern. All these questions will be answered on Saturday. But we will discuss the probable squad for India and possible omissions from the squad.
Top Indian names who can miss a place for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026
1. Sanju Samson
Since Shubman Gill has returned to the Indian T20I squad, India have ignored Sanju Samson, the opener. Samson has been forced to bat in the middle order. He has not been given a chance to play even a single match in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa. Instead, India have gone with Jitesh Sharma, who is a proper middle-order batter. It indicates that India don't trust Samson in the middle order. And with Gill being picked as the preferred opener, irrespective of form, Samson's chance to play becomes difficult. Hence, there are chances that India might drop Samson because Rishabh Pant might also come back as keeper in the squad.
2. Yashasvi Jaiswal
The story of Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal is pretty similar at the moment. With Abhishek Sharma performing and India giving priority to Gill at the top, it becomes difficult for other openers to come back into the scene. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is considered an upcoming all-format star, has to sit out. He recently slammed a blistering century on his return to SMAT 2025-26. But despite his form and better numbers, he might not be featured for the T20 World Cup 2026. India might pick him as backup players.
3. Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj was part of the Indian squad that won the T20 World Cup 2024 under Rohit Sharma. But since then, he has been kept away from the T20I assignment. Siraj has been treated as a test bowler and has not been picked up for much white-ball cricket. He played SMAT 2025-26 domestically and did well. But despite his current form, he is likely to miss the squad. India might still go with Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Harshit Rana as specialist pacers, along with Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube.
4. Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant was India's third-highest scorer in their T20 World Cup 2024 winning campaign. He scored 171 runs at an average of 24.43 and a strike rate of 127.61. But Pant might not be featured in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. Just like Siraj, Pant hasn't had many chances in the white-ball cricket under Gambhir. With Samson and Jitesh being given consistent chances in T20Is, Pant might be axed from the squad.
5. Rinku Singh
Another name that flourished under the coaching of Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma was Rinku Singh. The Southpaw established himself as the designated finisher for India in T20Is. But in the recent 12 months or so, Rinku hasn't had many opportunities. Though he is still a very good prospect for India and might be picked as a backup player. But he is unlikely to be picked in the squad for the T20 World Cup 2026.
