T20 World Cup 2026 India Squad: Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan's selection in India's T20 World Cup 2026 squad marked his return to the international circuit as he edged out Jitesh Sharma to seal his place in the tournament with his wonderful run at the just-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar pointed out Kishan's inclusion in the team combination concerns, highlighting the wicketkeeper-batter's ability to strengthen India's squad depth.

Kishan made his comeback on the back of his stunning performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, amassing 517 runs in ten matches at an explosive strike rate of 197.32.

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“He bats at the top in white-ball cricket, and he’s been in good form. He played before for India. He wasn’t in the Indian team because there is a Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant ahead of him. We felt a ‘keeper at the top gives us more solidity," Agarkar said at the press conference announcing the squad.

Kishan's addition to India's T20 World Cup 2026 squad is linked to Shubman Gill's omission and Sanju Samson's role.

“If your ‘keeper is going to bat at the top, our thought was to have another ‘keeper, just in case there’s a problem. There was Jitesh, who again hasn’t done too much wrong, [the same as] Shubman… it’s about the combinations, more than anything," Agarkar said.

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India's T20 World Cup captain Suryakumar Yadav emphasised that Shubman Gill's omission was due to team combination requirements, not his form.

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“Post T20 WC (2024), we went to Sri Lanka and we had scored 200 and Gill was part of it. We wanted to have a keeper at the top and Rinku or Washy (down the order), which is why we have an extra keeper at the top. There is no question of (Gill's) form,” Suryakumar said in a press conference.

India’s Squad For T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan.


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