T20 World Cup Squad: Agarkar Explains Selection Calls

The BCCI named the next squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after a meeting at the headquarters on Saturday. The selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar settled on a 15-member unit.

India is in Group A along with Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan and the United States. The Men in Blue will begin their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign against USA on February 7 in Mumbai.

Delayed arrival in Syria led to the announcement

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar arrived at the BCCI headquarters before the selection of the India team on time. The Indian team’s squad for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and the T20I series against New Zealand was announced in January by skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Agarkar.

Meanwhile, Suriya flew from Ahmedabad after the fifth T20I against South Africa. He reportedly arrived a little late for the meeting.

Reveal the band

Due to Syria’s late arrival, the announcement was slightly delayed. BCCI’s Devajit Saikia entered the press room for the first time, followed by Suryakumar Yadav and Ajay Agarkar.

Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel (VC), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan, Rinku Singh.

Devajit Saikia has confirmed that there will be no reserve players in the team. The reason for this step is that both tournaments will be held on Indian soil.

Agarkar on disdain for generation and player choice

Explaining Gill’s exclusion, Agarkar said: “Shubman Gill is lacking runs at the moment and missed the last WC as well.”

Speaking about the team selection, he said: “Your opinion may differ from mine. Sometimes it is difficult when you select players. We still think he is a quality player. You go through ups and downs with forms, but it is more about the combinations you want them to play. Someone has to miss out, not because he is not a good player, and fortunately in Indian cricket we have options.”

Agarkar on Samson

“When someone is playing Tests and not playing T20s, you can’t say it’s for the combinations. When Sanju and Tilak made those hundreds in South Africa last year, the Test team was in Australia. You saw Sanju’s opening last night and that tells you what the thinking is. With a second wicketkeeper picking at the top,” Ajit Agarkar said.

Tilak Pharma is fixed at number 3

“We have reached a point where, me, Ghoti bhai and the other batsmen, left-right is not what we are looking for. It is a bit exaggerated. We have set number 3 for Tilak, 4 for myself, and then whoever feels comfortable. We want to fix that role for Tilak so that he knows what his role is and is happy in this position,” reveals Suryakumar Yadav.

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