The T20 World Cup 2024 will be remembered by many for good reasons. Firstly, India won the T20 World Cup, quenching their thirst for an ICC trophy after an 11-year wait. Secondly, at the end of the tournament, the leader who guided the team to the silver, Rohit Sharma, hung up his boots from T20I cricket. Sharma has retired from T20Is after serving as the leader of the Indian T20I team. Many questions arose instantly, with the first being, Who will be the captain of the India in T20Is now?
In the recently announced T20I team that is going to tour Sri Lanka, Surya Kumar Yadav has been named captain. This came unexpectedly for many, as people believed Hardik Pandya would fill Rohit’s shoes. So, will we see SKY captaining in the T20 World Cup 2026 as well, which is scheduled to happen in India and Sri Lanka? or any twist awaiting. Let’s take a look at three names who could captain India in the 2026 T20 World Cup.
India’s Captain in the T20 World Cup 2026
Surya Kumar Yadav
The first name that looks almost confirmed for this post is Surya Kumar Yadav. The right-handed batter performed decently well with the bat. And in terms of captaincy also, SKY has an impressive record. Winning 5 out of 7 games with a win percentage of 71.42%. However, the question remains whether he will be able to maintain the same track record in the upcoming games or not. Apart from the three T20I matches against Sri Lanka, India will play Bangladesh and England at home.
They have five T20I matches against the Three Lions, which will be a real test for Surya. If he performs well there and maintains this track record in all these games, there is no doubt he could be a long-term contender for the captaincy of India in the T20 World Cup 2026.
Hardik Pandya
As mentioned earlier, Hardik has been seen as the natural choice for T20I captaincy after Rohit retired. However, things changed after Gambhir became an Indian coach. We saw lots of surprises in the selection for this Sri Lanka tour, especially Hardik’s snub from India’s captaincy.
One possible reason could be Hardik Pandya’s injury concerns. Since India has been struggling for a few years to find a long-term captain, they have seen a few shufflings in this position, which they will look to avoid now.
Hardik, who has been on and off with the Indian team, especially because of his injuries, could be the reason he did not get the captain’s cap. If things don’t go in Surya Kumar Yadav’s favor and he doesn’t enjoy success, Hardik Pandya might be considered once again. But nothing is confirmed yet. And there is no doubt that he is one of the contenders for leading in 2026, despite the snub.
Hardik Pandya capataincy record in T20Is
Pandya has played 16 T20I matches as a captain, where he has won 10 games and lost five. He has a decent winning percentage of 62.50.
Ꮪhubman Gill
One new name that is still among the favorites but could be a surprise in the future is India’s emerging star, Shubman Gill. As mentioned, the tournament is still almost two years away, and we recently saw how Gill led the team to success in the shorter format of the game against Zimbabwe, with his young team clinching the series 4-1. This was Gill’s first taste as India captain, and we have observed that the management is looking at him as a real contender for the captaincy when it comes to leading the future troop.
Although it is still early to predict. Since Gill has been on and off with the team in T20Is due to his inconsistency in the shorter format. But looking ahead to 2025, which will be full of T20I cricket, if both of the above options might not work, India may consider Gill as well.
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