T20 World Cup 2026: India Expected to Stick With New Zealand Series Squad

India’s squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup is expected to be almost the same as the team picked for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The World Cup will be held in the sub-continent from February 7 to March 8.

As per ICC rules, all teams must submit their final 15-member squad one month before the tournament begins. The selectors can still make changes to the squad, but only until the deadline set by the ICC. A BCCI source said the World Cup squad will mostly be the same as the one picked for the New Zealand series, unless someone gets injured or something unusual happens.

India Likely to Retain Same Squad for T20 World Cup 2026

"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. One of the biggest reasons being continuity and the 15 chosen for the series against the Black Caps won't be tinkered with because of the short turnaround time," stated the source, as quoted by NDTV Sports.

It is understood that the five T20Is against South Africa will be the last chance for coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav to try out some players before the New Zealand series. These matches will act as a practice run for the big tournament. 

The BCCI had followed the same template like the one used during the T20 World Cup 2024 and the Champions Trophy 2025. Both the tournaments were eventually won by India in convincing fashion.

India will play five T20I matches against New Zealand on these dates and venues:

• January 21 – Nagpur

• January 23 – Raipur

• January 25 – Guwahati

• January 28 – Vizag

• January 31 – Trivandrum

Before the T20Is, India and New Zealand will also play three ODI matches.

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