India Squad for T20 World Cup Announcement LIVE Updates: Defending champions' 'Final 15' to be announced soon

Here’s a look at the Rohit Sharma-led Indian squad that had won the T20 World Cup in June last year after beating South Africa in the final:

Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

With Shubman Gill missing the T20I series finale against South Africa in Ahmedabad due to a toe injury, Sanju Samson not only opened alongside Abhishek Sharma, he also kept the wickets despite Jitesh Sharma’s inclusion in the XI.

With Samson smashing 37 off 22 balls and also putting up an impressive performance behind the stumps, it appears he might have the team management’s backing for the wicketkeeper’s slot over Jitesh heading into the T20 World Cup. Both players, however, are likely to be picked in the squad.

Shubman Gill leads the Indian team in Tests as well as ODIs, meaning he certainly has the team management’s backing across formats and will likely remain the vice-captain despite his poor run with the bat in recent outings.

With Sanju Samson smashing 37 off 22 balls after playing as an opener in the fifth T20I against South Africa, there is a slight possibility that the selectors and the team management might be thinking about Gill’s place in the T20I setup.

“Defending a T20 World Cup title is daunting, you’re rarely in the same form two years later, and rebuilding that team mindset is tough. Post-2024, three key players retired, thrusting us into transition, though our depth raises hopes of becoming the first home winners. Conditions evolve, pressures mount unlike our dark-horse 2007 run and by 2009, changed dynamics and lost confidence cost us despite prior experience,” the former India all-rounder said on the JioStar Press Room on Friday.

For the record, no team has successfully defended the T20 World Cup title in the history of the competition till date. No team has even reached the final as defending champions for that matter.

No host nation has ever lifted the trophy in the 18 years that have gone by since the T20 World Cup first came into existence – Sri Lanka coming the closest in 2012.

Former India batter Robin Uthappa, however, notes that India had broken a similar curse in the ODI World Cup in 2011, and have what it takes to do the same in ICC’s showpiewce T20 event. ( READ MORE )

Harshit Rana has been representing India across formats ever since Gautam Gambhir was appointed India’s head coach in July last year. And while many have questioned the team management going out of its way to back him, the Kolkata Knight Riders pacer certainly has improved over the months. He had starred in India’s ODI victory over Australia in Sydney with a haul of 4/39. And in the Dharamsala T20I against South Africa earlier this week, he had chipped in with figures of 2/34.

It is safe to say that Rana will be included in India’s T20 World Cup squad, though his place in the playing XI will not be automatic due to the fact that India might lean more towards spinners in home conditions, as well as the fact that Arshdeep Singh is likely to be picked as the second frontline seamer after Jasprit Bumrah.

Rinku had been included as a travelling reserve in last year’s T20 World Cup in the US and the Caribbean, and had faced just one delivery in the Asia Cup in September – hitting the winning boundary in the final against Pakistan in Dubai.

With the southpaw then getting ignored for the T20I series against South Africa, there are doubts as to whether he will even be considered for the upcoming mega event, which will be taking place on home soil in February and March.

Announcing the squad nearly six weeks before the tournament is a clear signal from the BCCI – the Indian team should have clarity, stability, and no last-minute experiments. It also means the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand will act as a full-fledged dress rehearsal.

By unveiling India’s squad for the T20 World Cup a month-and-a-half in advance, the BCCI intends to use the bilateral T20I series against New Zealand at home next month as a dress rehearsal of sorts, and not as an audition for World Cup hopefuls.

India’s squad for the New Zealand series, thus, isn’t likely to be any different from the one that will be defending the T20 world title in February and March.