India's T20 World Cup 2026 squad to be same as that of New Zealand series: Report

 

India's squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 will be identical to that for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, as reported.

India are the defending champions of the T20 World Cup, having won the title in 2024 by defeating South Africa in the final. The Indian team will be under Suryakumar Yadav this time, with the previous World Cup-winning captain Rohit Sharma having announced his T20I retirement. 

As per a report, the squads for the World Cup and the five-match series against New Zealand, which gets underway from January 21. The final dates for the World Cup are not out yet, but as per reports, the tentative date for the start of the global showpiece is February 7. 

Teams are required to submit their squads to the International Cricket Council (ICC) a month before the start of the tournament and can make changes till a specified date. As there will be a short turnaround, the squads for the two assignments will have an identical look, with changes subject to only injuries. 

"With only 10 T20Is left before the T20 World Cup, you won't see many changes happening in the squad proper unless someone is ruled out due to any specific injury," a BCCI source close to the development told.

"One of the biggest reasons is continuity, and the 15 chosen for the series against the Black Caps won't be tinkered with because of the short turnaround time."

The five T20Is against New Zealand will be played in Nagpur (January 21), Raipur (January 23), Guwahati (January 25), Vizag (January) 28 and Trivandrum (January 31).

The T20 World Cup will have 20 teams competing in four groups of five each for the coveted trophy. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Eight stage, which will be followed by the semifinals and the final.