India’s Predicted Playing XI for T20 World Cup 2026: Axar Patel as Vice-Captain

India has dropped Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma from its 2026 T20 World Cup squad. Instead, Rinku Singh and Ishan Kishan have been included in the 15-player team. Axar Patel has been named vice-captain, and the same squad will also feature in the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand.

India enters the tournament as defending champion, having defeated South Africa in the final of the 2024 edition.

Predicted Playing XI

Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy

India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026

Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-capt), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wk)