IND vs AUS series wrapped up, 10 matches to go for T20 World Cup 2026 but questions remain

For the record books, India continued their dominance in T20 cricket, winning the five-match series in Australia 2-1 after the final game in Brisbane was washed out. That leaves Team India with just 10 matches to prepare for the T20 World Cup 2026 in February. And all 10 matches are now at home, where they will play the World Cup. Hence, Suryakumar Yadav & Co enter the final stretch of preparations with the squad submission deadline set at January 7.

With 7 series wins on the trot, including the Asia Cup 2025, since the T20 World Cup 2024, India are in a good space in the shortest format. As the head coach, Gautam Gambhir, has emphasised more on all-rounders, there appears to be no crack. Abhishek Sharma has dominated the format, while Indian spinners have forced batters to dance to their tunes. That makes India the early favourite to retain the T20 WC title.

However, despite the positives, there seem to be some questions Gambhir and SKY still need some answers to in the series against South Africa and New Zealand at home. They are also the takeaways from the IND vs AUS T20 series.

SKY-fall: Suryakumar Yadav’s form concerning

Suryakumar Yadav finished the IND vs AUS T20 series with 84 runs, facing 49 deliveries. He managed a strike rate of 171.42. While that may appear as a good sign, his scores read 39 off 24, 1 off 4, 24 off 11 and 20 off 10. Barring the first match in Canberra, SKY never converted the good starts. In the Asia Cup, he averaged 18.00 in six innings with a strike rate of just 101.40. Since T20 World Cup 2024, he has averaged 19.71 with a strike rate of 147.85 in 24 innings. In those innings, he could only manage two fifties.

Considering his stats, SKY has clearly shown the signs of pressure of captaincy. Before captaincy, he played a lot more fluently. But that has changed. With just 10 matches to go for T20 WC, his current form is a matter of concern even though Gambhir has disagreed.

With no fixed batting position for all except the openers, India have made it work even with SKY’s poor run of form but in a World Cup, it may not always work out. Tilak Varma has done well at No 3 and also at No 4. He might be India’s priority in the batting order. The other solution could be to drop Suryakumar Yadav to No 6 and play as a finisher, promoting the wicketkeeper-batter or Axar Patel.

Captain?	Inns	Runs	HS	Avg	SR	100	50	4s	6s
Not as captain	89	2754	117	36.72	164.41	4	21	247	154
As captain	31	714	100	25.5	154.54	1	4	66	40

The Shubman Gill problem

Till the start of the Asia Cup, everything seemed perfect for Team India. Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson were giving explosive starts and everything was going as per plan. However, India’s obsession with forcing Shubman Gill in the T20 setup hasn’t really worked out so far. It has created problems with the combination and has kept more attacking Yashasvi Jaiswal out.

Sanju Samson had to adapt to a middle-order role despite doing well in the top order. As he faltered, India opted for a more suitable Jitesh Sharma. But the man of the moment, Shubman Gill, who is the future all-format India captain, hasn’t been as successful in his T20I return. Since his return to the T20I side in Asia Cup, Gill hasn’t managed a fifty.

However, the problem is not that he has flopped. The problem is that he hasn’t managed to have an explosive strike rate and also manage 40+ scores. When he played longer, his strike rate dipped. And when he tried attacking play, he perished quickly. In the IND vs AUS 4th T20I, Gill scored 46, his second 40+ score since Asia Cup. But his strike rate dropped to 117.94, not suitable in T20Is anymore.

“He is the vice-captain for the T20 World Cup, that’s fixed now. It’s also fixed that he’s the future T20I captain. So they have to play with him and build the balance for the rest of the side. With Gill’s inclusion, the overall balance has gone for a toss so they aren’t sure of what to do. Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma don’t have a fixed position. And, Arshdeep Singh is missing out on the 11,” former chief selection Krishnamachari Srikkanth questioned on his YouTube channel.

The next 10 T20Is in India will be crucial for Gill to justify his inclusion and position in the side, as he is not flexible to bat down the order.

Sanju Samson vs Jitesh Sharma: Who is India’s WK?

With 10 matches to go for the T20 World Cup 2026, there is no clarity on who will be India’s wicketkeeper-batter. These 10 matches in India will be the final audition. Since the last T20 WC, India have played 32 matches so far. Samson has played in 26 of them, Dhruv Jurel has played 4, Jitesh Sharma has played 3, while Rishabh Pant has featured in 2.

Sanju Samson seemed to be India’s preferred choice. The Rajasthan Royals captain scored three centuries and a fifty while maintaining a strike rate of 169.30 playing in the top order. But the forced inclusion of Shubman Gill has put Samson’s spot in jeopardy. Samson hasn’t found success in the middle or lower-middle order. In five innings at No 4 and 5, Samson has scored just a fifty. His strike rate has drastically fallen to 129.20.

“I don’t understand what they are doing with Sanju Samson. He bats at 5 one game, then suddenly at 4, 6, 7, or 8. And in this match, he bats at 3. That is not fair, you’ve to give a fixed position. Mentally, only then can a batsman make up his mind. You can’t just keep shuffling the batting order. You are spoiling that boy’s confidence, which is not fair,” Srikkanth said.

With no instant success from Samson in the middle order, Gambhir has looked at the alternative Jitesh Sharma. Unlike Samson, Jitesh is a specialist in the lower-middle order. He proved that in the IPL 2025. Out of the three matches he featured in the IND vs AUS T20 series, he clicked in the first game, scoring 13-ball 22 at No 7. Jitesh is probably the only solution India will end up with in the T20 WC. The last 10 matches will be crucial for Samson to cement his place.

Does Rinku Singh have a place?

Forcing Shubman Gill also means there is no place for Rinku Singh, at least if no one is injured. Since Gill’s return, Rinku has had just two games due to injuries and the resting of players. He played the Asia Cup final and featured in the IND vs AUS 5th T20 without getting to bat.

He played as a finisher and was in great form, but the combination forced him to miss the T20 WC last time. In the home WC, it will be difficult to fit him into the team unless there is an injury. Instead, India could also look at Nitish Kumar Reddy as a backup for injury-prone Hardik Pandya.

Curious case of Washington Sundar

While Axar Patel has emerged as an undroppable player in India’s white-ball line-ups, Washington Sundar has been underutilised. He has often played as a batter. But when given the opportunity, he has also impressed with the ball. In the 4th T20, Sundar bagged three wickets in just eight deliveries. He scored a match-winning 49 in the 3rd T20.

With Kuldeep Yadav set to play all matches in India, it will be a difficult task for the team management to find a place for Sundar, despite his skill set. Varun Chakaravarthy’s form and Axar Patel’s versatility make it more difficult to select Sundar ahead of the rest.

The five-match IND vs SA T20 series will give Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar more clarity on the final squad combination. The likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana will also fight for spots along with Washington Sundar. But don’t rule out Mohd Siraj or Rishabh Pant as last-minute options.

Players in the fray for T20 World Cup

Confirmed	Most Likely	Outside chance
Suryakumar Yadav (C)	Sanju Samson (WK)	Shreyas Iyer
Jasprit Bumrah	Jitesh Sharma (WK)	Yashasvi Jaiswal
Arshdeep Singh	Washington Sundar	Mohd Siraj
Shubman Gill (VC)	Rinku Singh	Sai Sudharsan
Abhishek Sharma	Nitish Kumar Reddy	Rishabh Pant (WK)
Tilak Varma	Harshit Rana	Dhruv Jurel (WK)
Hardik Pandya		Riyan Parag
Axar Patel		Prasidh Krishna
Kuldeep Yadav		KL Rahul
Varun Chakaravarthy
Shivam Dube