Kamal Ghorui
Four members of the title-winning India national cricket team — Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah — have been selected in the official Team of the Tournament for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after India secured a record third title.Leading the Indian contingent is Player of the Tournament Samson, who enjoyed a remarkable campaign at the top of the order. The wicketkeeper-batter amassed 321 runs in just five innings. Despite not starting the tournament in India’s playing XI, Samson made an immediate impact once introduced, producing Player of the Match performances against the West Indies national cricket team and the England national cricket team.
He capped his tournament in style by smashing 89 in the final against the New Zealand national cricket team — the highest individual score in a men’s T20 World Cup final.Kishan was another key performer in India’s batting line-up. The left-hander scored 317 runs, the fourth-highest tally in the tournament, while maintaining a striking rate of 193.29. Batting at the top of the order, Kishan delivered a standout 77 against the Pakistan national cricket team before shifting to number three later in the competition. He also played crucial innings against England and New Zealand, including a half-century in the final.All-rounder Pandya earned his place for contributions with both bat and ball. He struck two fifties during the tournament, highlighted by a blistering 52 off 28 balls against the Namibia national cricket team. With the ball, Pandya claimed nine wickets, often delivering breakthroughs at key moments.Bumrah, who was named Player of the Match in the final, completed India’s representation in the XI. The pace spearhead ended the tournament as the joint-leading wicket-taker with 14 wickets from eight matches and maintained an impressive economy rate of 6.21. His best performance came in the final where he produced figures of four for 15.The team’s opening slot is occupied by Sahibzada Farhan of the Pakistan national team, who finished as the leading run-scorer in the competition with 383 runs at an average of 76.60. His tournament featured two centuries, including knocks against the Sri Lanka national cricket team and Namibia.South Africa’s Aiden Markram has been named captain of the side, which also includes England’s Will Jacks, West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder, South African pacer Lungi Ngidi, England spinner Adil Rashid and Zimbabwe quick Blessing Muzarabani.Namibia’s Shadley van Schalkwyk has been named as the 12th player in the squad.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Team of the Tournament:
Sahibzada Farhan, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Aiden Markram (c), Hardik Pandya, Will Jacks, Jason Holder, Jasprit Bumrah, Lungi Ngidi, Adil Rashid, Blessing Muzarabani12th player: Shadley van Schalkwyk.
