No Gill, Jitesh for T20 World Cup; Ishan Kishan returns to India T20I squad

No Gill, Jitesh for T20 World Cup; Ishan Kishan returns to India T20I squad

Ishan Kishan had a breakout season in the SMAT with 517 runs in 10 innings ©AFP

Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh have been included in India's 15-man squad for the Men's T20 World Cup 2026 and the five-match T20I series against New Zealand in the lead-up to the global event next year. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side while Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain.

As a result, Shubman Gill, who was vice-captain of the squad until the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa, and Jitesh Sharma, have missed the cut. BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, captain Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the 15-man squad for the mega-event from the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday (December 20).

India Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Axar Patel (vc), Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Rinku Singh

Axar was vice-captain of the Indian T20I squad until the conclusion of the five-match T20I series against England in January and February before Gill took over the role in India's next T20I assignment at the Asia Cup in September, this year. Gill remained the deputy for Suryakumar in the subsequent Australia and South Africa series as well but Axar will now take over.

Gill had missed the last two T20Is due to a foot injury which he suffered in the nets ahead of the abandoned T20I in Lucknow. But, it wasn't a fruitful year for Gill in T20Is scoring just 291 runs in 15 innings at an average of 24.25 and striking at 137.26 with no fifties or hundreds to show for his efforts.

Kishan, meanwhile, had a breakout season in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as he captained Jharkhand to the crown. He scored 517 runs in just 10 innings at 57.32 and struck at a whopping 197.32 in the tournament. He scored two fifties and two hundreds, including a century in the final against Haryana (101 off 49).

The batters include a power-packed lineup of Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Rinku and Kishan. Hardik Pandya who blitzed 63 off 25 balls in the final T20I in Ahmedabad is one among four all-rounders with Axar, Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar the other three.

The bowling composition includes three frontline pacers and two frontline spinners. Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack while Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are the other two fast-bowlers. The spinners include Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav.

Ahead of India attempting to defend their T20 World Cup, India will face New Zealand for three ODIs and five T20Is. The T20I series will be played from January 21 to January 31 in preparation for the marquee event. The squad for the three ODIs, which will be played from January 11 to January 18, will be announced at a later date.

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Karnataka cabinet gives conditional nod to host IPL games in Chinnaswamy

Karnataka cabinet gives conditional nod to host IPL games in Chinnaswamy

The stadium has not hosted domestic or international matches since June 4 ©Getty

The Karnataka Cabinet has given the conditional nod to the KSCA to host IPL games in Chinnaswamy. Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that the government provided the approval subject to compliance of the safety and security requirements in order to protect Bengaluru's image.

The venue hasn't hosted domestic or international matches following the stampede on June 4 during RCB's victory celebrations that led to the death of 11 people. KSCA's new president Venkatesh Prasad had expressed his determination to bring back international cricket to the venue. It is now understood that the KSCA will be moving four Vijay Hazare Trophy matches involving Delhi from Alur to the Chinnaswamy following the development. As a result, Virat Kohli is now expected to play at the venue sooner given he recently confirmed his availability to play in the tournament.

"We have decided about the IPL matches. We are positive. We have asked our Home Minister G Parameshwara, to have a meeting with them (Karnataka State Cricket Association authorities)," DK Shivakumar told reporters on Friday (December 12). "We are very positive. We want all the IPL matches to continue. We don't want the image of Bengaluru to be spoilt though whatever happened (stampede) was not right."

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De Kock makes a surprise return as BCCI prunes auction register to 350

De Kock makes a surprise return as BCCI prunes auction register to 350

The BCCI has pruned the auction register to 350 players, which include 35 new names ©BCCI

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction will feature 350 players. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has arrived at this number after extensive consultations with the franchises. The auction will be held in Abu Dhabi on December 16.

A total of 1390 players registered for the Player Auction, out of which 350 players were shortlisted; 240 Indian and 110 are overseas recruits. The pool comprises 224 uncapped Indian players and 14 uncapped overseas players. The pruned final list includes 35 new names that were not part of the initial spreadsheet and one surprise entry among them is Quinton de Kock.

The South African wicketkeeper-batter had not figured in the original list, but his name was added later, evidently at the recommendation of a franchise. He is in the third lot that is for wicketkeeper/batters.

De Kock's (33) change of heart is not hard to understand. Having recently come out of international retirement, he smashed a century in the third and final ODI against India in Visakhapatnam the other day. His base price is INR 1 crore - a 50 percent drop from the previous mega auction, when he was picked up by the Knight Riders for the floor price of INR 2 crore.

After an underwhelming season with KKR, the franchise decided to release him.

Among other new players are a bunch of Sri Lankans - Traveen Mathew, Binura Fernando, Kusal Perera and Dunith Wellalage.

"The auction will feature 350 players and will commence at 1 pm UAE time (2.30 PM IST) on Tuesday, 16 December, at the Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi," the BCCI said in a mail to the franchises on Monday (December 8) night.

According to the BCCI, the player auction will commence with a full round of capped players in the order of specialism - batter (BA1), all-rounders (AL1), wicket keeper/batter (WK1), fast bowlers (FA1), and spin bowlers (SP1) followed by a full specialism round of uncapped players (UBA1, UAL1, UWK1, UFA1, USP1 followed by UBA2, UWK2 like that).

Cameron Green, expected to be in high demand, is in the first lot of batters (BA1). Others in that cluster are Devon Conway, Jake Fraser McGurk, Sarfaraz Khan, Prithvi Shaw and David Miller. Venkatesh Iyer is in the second lot belonging to AL1 (all-rounders).

Like in every auction, there will be an accelerated process and the BCCI plans to start it after Player No 70 in the register. "For your planning purposes, please note, subject to timings it is envisaged that the accelerated process will start after player No 70," the BCCI said in its mail. Wahidullah Zadran of Afghanistan is the 70th named in the document.

"The first accelerated will cover all the players from 71-350. Once these players have been presented, franchises will be requested to submit the names of the players (unpresented and unsold) from all those on the full list of 350 for further accelerated presentation," the BCCI said.

The 10 IPL franchises collectively have Rs 237.55 crore to transact at the auction, with Kolkata Knight Riders heading to Abu Dhabi with the maximum purse of Rs 64.30 crore. Chennai Super Kings are second on the rich list with a purse of Rs 43.40 crore available. There are 77 slots to be filled, including 31 overseas positions. The highest reserve price remains INR 2 crore, with 40 players choosing to enter the auction in this bracket but only two of them - Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi - are Indians.

The auction will begin at 2:30 PM IST (1 PM Local time) on December 16.

New inclusions:

Overseas players: Arab Gul (Afghanistan), Miles Hammond (England), Dan Lategan (England), Quinton de Kock (South Africa) Connor Eztherhuizen (South Africa), George Linde (South Africa), Bayanda Majola (South Africa), Traveen Mathew (Sri Lanka), Binura Fernando (Sri Lanka), Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka), Dunith Wellalage (Sri Lanka), Akeem Auguste (West Indies).

Indian players: Sadek Hussain, Vishnu Solanki, Sabir Khan, Brijesh Sharma, Kanishk Chouhan, Aaron George, Jikku Bright, Srihari Nair, Madhav Bajaj, Shreevathsa Acharya, Yashraj Punja, Sahil Parakh, Roshan Waghsare, Yash Dicholkar, Ayaz Khan, Dhurmil Matkar, Naman Pushpak, Parikshit Valsangkar, Purav Agarwal, Rishabh Chouhan, Sagar Solanki, Izaz Sawariya and Aman Shekawat

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Red-soil pitch brings fresh intrigue to Barabati opener

Red-soil pitch brings fresh intrigue to Barabati opener

The venue will roll out its first-ever red-soil pitch ©BCCI

There's a first at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. In the chequered history of the venue, it will roll out a red-soil wicket for the first time ever. A touch of red, a hint of green (grass), and a dash of bounce - natural hallmarks of such surfaces - and it should make the pitch ideal for batters, especially in a Twenty20 game. Add a bit of moisture to the mix, and the alchemy is complete: the perfect recipe for a high-scoring contest.

That, of course, is only the theoretical reading, and with it being a new pitch, an element of uncertainty will naturally carry forward with the prognosis. The first Twenty20 International between India and South Africa on Tuesday will, therefore, traverse into largely uncharted territory for this region. The captain winning the toss may still prefer to bowl first, but that choice will come with its own inherent risk.

"Red soil," exclaimed Suryakumar Yadav "And for the first time? I haven't seen it (the pitch) yet - didn't get a chance to go down. I think it should be good. Black soil would have been better, but I feel the red soil will also play well. A red-soil wicket can be quick too. Let's see. If it's fast, that's good," the India skipper analysed.

The Indian team, in its pursuit of the right mix, combinations and balance ahead of the February-March 2026 World Cup, should nonetheless relish these conditions. Similar surfaces are expected during the tournament, and India has the right horses for such courses, as they say. With exactly 10 T20Is left - five in the ongoing series against South Africa and five more against New Zealand in January - the team is entering the final stretch of preparation for next year's blue-riband global cricket event.

Surya, however, brushed aside the talk that this series is part of the team's preparation for the World Cup. "Our 2026 T20 World Cup preparation began right after we won the T20 World Cup in 2024. Because for any big tournament, you cannot think that the tournament is here and you have to start preparing. It's like when we appear for exams in school, it is not like we try to study everything in the last four days. We study for a year or two. Our preparation is similar. The preparation started after the T20 World Cup 2024 got over. Since then, we have been trying new things and everything is working for us."

The skipper's assertion notwithstanding, the Indian team will still be looking closely at a few areas. The top order will be under particular scrutiny, with Shubman Gill returning from a neck injury. His fire-and-ice match-up with the explosive Abhishek Sharma will be central to India's plans, and this match - as well as the series - will give Gill the opportunity to complement the hard-hitting opener with his own style of controlled aggression.

Apart from Gill, the other major focus will be Hardik Pandya. Out of action since the Asia Cup, the all-rounder remains crucial to India's balance - opening the bowling alongside Jasprit Bumrah and slotting in at No. 6 with the bat. His presence is even more significant after the Nitish Kumar Reddy experiment as a pace-bowling all-rounder failed to take off.

India will need Pandya fit over the next three months, and, ironically, he was conspicuous by his absence at training on Monday after experiencing discomfort while bowling in the nets the previous evening. Sources said he is fine.

When: Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 7 PM local time

Where: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack

What to expect: With a new red-soil base, the Barabati surface bears resemblance to the Wankhede track - a typical T20 wicket, full of runs. Having lost both of their previous games against South Africa at this venue, India will be keen to break the trend.

Team News

India

Players are all fit with slight uncertainty over Hardik Pandya, who experienced discomfort while bowling at the nets on Sunday evening. With Shubman Gill opening with Abhishek Sharma, there is unlikely to be a place in the XI for Sanju Samson. Shivam Dube will be the third pacer which means Arshdeep Singh may sit out.

Probable XI: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.

South Africa

Aiden Markram is back as South Africa captain for the T20Is after being rested for the limited-overs series against Pakistan a few weeks back. He's set to open with Quinton de Kock while it remains to be seen if Tony de Zorzi, who picked up an injury in the second ODI, has made sufficient recovery. Dewald Brevis and Tristan Stubbs will form the middle order core along with David Miller, who is set to return after a hamstring injury forced him to miss the Pakistan series. Among the bowlers, Anrich Nortje is set to make his first international appearance since the 2024 T20 World Cup final against India. Nortje might prove useful early on against Shubman Gill, having dismissed the Indian opener 4 times in 7 innings in T20 cricket, while he has also accounted for India captain Suryakumar Yadav twice in six innings.

Probable XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje

Did you know

At the Barabati Stadium, India have played two T20Is against SA and lost both (while defending), in 2015 and 2022 respectively

Jasprit Bumrah, currently on 99 T20I wickets, is set to become just the fifth bowler to 100 wickets in all three formats.

Hardik Pandya, who currently has 98 wickets in the format, is on the verge of another milestone.

What did they say

I feel in the last 5-6 series which we have played, we have tried and played with a similar combination. We have not changed too much. We don't want to change a lot even going into the next two series also. The only thing is what type of cricket we want to play. That is one thing which we always want to try and do when we take the field. Rest, we don't want to change anything about what is happening: Suryakumar Yadav about India's team combination

It's great that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are not part of the T20I side, but still it's a great Indian team. T20 is a different battle altogether. We will approach it with a different plan. I won't speak about records, but tomorrow we will try to give our best and enjoy the game: Aiden Markram on the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from India's T20I side

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