T20 World Cup India Squad: The Indian team announced for the T20 World Cup; Gill and Jitesh dropped; Ishan and Rinku return.

Defending champions India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, will defend their title in next year's T20 World Cup. The senior national men's selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, announced a 15-member squad for the global tournament on Saturday. The team was selected at a meeting at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters. The same team will play in the T20 series against New Zealand in January.

India to Defend Title

India won the trophy in 2024 by defeating South Africa under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. India will enter this tournament with the intention of defending the title. This will be the 10th edition of the tournament. No team has ever defended its title in this tournament, so Team India will have a golden opportunity to break this record on home soil.

Gill's name not included; Ishan's return.

Shubman Gill's name is not included in India's T20 World Cup squad. Gill was the team's vice-captain until now, but this responsibility has now been reassigned to Axar Patel. Gill was not in good form in T20Is. Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh have returned to the team. Ishan last played for India on November 28, 2023, against Australia. This was also his last international match. Ishan was subsequently selected for the South Africa tour, but did not play a single match there. Ishan returned midway through the tour. He was dropped from the team due to a controversy over preferring the IPL over domestic cricket, but now he has returned to the team after two years. Rinku, on the other hand, was part of the Asia Cup but was not selected for the T20I series against Australia and South Africa.

Axar to be Vice-Captain

Axar Patel has been appointed the T20I vice-captain, replacing Shubman Gill. Axar has previously served as vice-captain in T20Is. Interestingly, Ishan Kishan has returned to the team. Kishan recently scored 101 runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final. He was in great form throughout the tournament. However, Ishan's inclusion has forced Jitesh Sharma to miss out on the team.

Sanju to be wicketkeeper.

While announcing the team, Ajit Agarkar stated that Sanju Samson will be the wicketkeeper. Gill's exclusion has now confirmed that Abhishek will open the innings with Sharma. The opening pair of Samson and Abhishek has been quite successful, as seen in the fifth T20I against South Africa.

No standby player

BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia has confirmed that there will be no standby players for the T20 World Cup and the T20I series against New Zealand. The reason for not having a standby player is that the tournament is being held in India. Earlier, India had kept travelling reserves while announcing the T20 squad for 2024.