The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. The 15-member team will have one objective: to retain their trophy and continue as defending champions.
Despite selecting what are the best cricketers in the nation, one can argue that India can field another XI. So, here is InsideSport’s unselected team for the T20 World Cup.
India ‘unselected’ XI for T20 World Cup 2026
Yashasvi Jaiswal will be the first opener. He’s unlucky to miss out on a spot in the main team due to heavy competition, but won’t be excluded from here. Shubman Gill doesn’t make the team here either. The second opener would be Priyansh Arya or Sai Sudharsan. Depending on personal preference, either can be picked. Arya strikes fast but doesn’t average much, and Sudharsan is the exact opposite.
| Player | Type | T20 stats in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | Opener | 704 runs (average 44, strike rate 161.46) |
| Priyansh Arya/ Sai Sudharsan | Opener | 746 runs (average 26.64, strike rate 171.10)/ 951 runs (average 50.05, strike rate 155.39) |
| Shreyas Iyer (c) | Top-order batter | 604 runs (average 50.33, strike rate 175.07) |
| Rajat Patidar | Middle-order batter | 425 runs (average 21.25, strike rate 141.66) |
| Riyan Parag | Spin bowling all-rounder | 446 runs (average 24.77, strike rate 145.27) 3 wickets (average 56.66, economy 8.50) |
| Naman Dhir | Finisher/ part-time spinner | 593 runs (average 31.21, strike rate 162.02) |
| Jitesh Sharma | Wicketkeeper | 538 runs (average 35.86, strike rate 175.24) |
| Vipraj Nigam | Spin bowling all-rounder | 165 runs (average 16.50, strike rate 158.65) 24 wickets (average 23.41, economy 8.38) |
| Sai Kishore | Spinner | 20 wickets (average 29.80, economy 10.01) |
| Mohammed Siraj | Pacer | 23 wickets (average 26.91, economy 8.49) |
| Prasidh Krishna | Pacer | 25 wickets (average 19.52, economy 8.27) |
Shreyas Iyer will lead the team and bat at number three, something he did quite often for Punjab Kings. He and Rajat Patidar will be the spin hitters in the team. One could argue that Patidar can be handed the captaincy, but Shreyas has a much better resume than him.
Patidar didn’t have the best Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 due to injuries, but might just be the best hitter in India. Riyan Parag was consistent and explosive at various points in the year. One can argue that there are better batters, but considering he bowls off-spin, Parag gets the nod.
Naman Dhir will play the Rinku Singh role. He was one of the best finishers in IPL 2025 and plays the same role for Punjab in domestic cricket. Jitesh Sharma, like Jaiswal, was unlucky to miss out on the main team but will be the keeper here.
Vipraj Nigam will play the Axar Patel role, but unlike him, he will bat at number eight. The leggie can take wickets and hit the long ball, something even the main Indian team doesn’t have. Sai Kishore will be the second spinner. He hasn’t been doing well in domestic cricket of late, but he outshone Rashid Khan for the Gujarat Titans.
Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna will be the two frontline pacers. Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, and Harshal Patel are other noteworthy names, but none performed better than they did.
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