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2026 T20 World Cup: Key Players
Who is the top-ranked T20I batter in 2025?
Which player took a hat trick for the West Indies in the 2026 T20 World Cup?
Is Usman Tariq’s bowling action legal?
Which player led England to a 3–0 T20I series win against Sri Lanka before the 2026 T20 World Cup?
What is Finn Allen known for in the Big Bash League?
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has granted more than 100 countries Twenty20 (T20) international playing status. The increase in teams in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup from 12 in 2007 to 20 in 2024 and 2026 reflects the popularity of the shorter T20 format. In the 2026 edition each participating country is allowed to field a squad of 15 players and had until January 31 to declare the final members. The teams will play 55 matches from February to March in eight venues across India and Sri Lanka. Here’s a list of players expected to make headlines during the tournament.
India
Sanju Samson
The Indian wicketkeeper and opening batter emerged as the tournament’s ultimate dark horse, going from being an out-of-favor squad member to winning the Player of the Tournament award. Samson played a huge part in his team’s title-winning run, top-scoring for India in crucial encounters against West Indies in the Super Eight stage, England in the semifinals, and New Zealand in the final, with scores of 97 runs not out, 89 runs, and 89 runs, respectively. He became the tournament’s third highest run scorer and hit 24 sixes, the most by any player in a single edition, using quick footwork, a watchful eye, and the depth of the crease to good effect during his turns to bat. Samson quickly became a crowd favorite because of his consistency and attacking play during the tournament.
- Full name: Sanju Viswanath Samson
- Playing style: Right-hand batter
- Role: Opening batter; wicketkeeper
Abhishek Sharma
An ultra-attacking left-handed opening batter and part-time left-arm spinner, Abhishek Sharma became the top-ranked T20I batter in the ICC cricket rankings in 2025. A string of powerful, boundary-laden, match-winning performances has cemented his place among the best batters in the world in the shortest format of the sport. His batting strike rate (average of runs scored per 100 balls faced by an individual batter) is the highest among all T20I players in the world. Sharma’s form in the Men’s T20 Asia Cup in September 2025 was crucial in helping India win that tournament.
- Playing style: Left-hand batter; slow left-arm orthodox
- Role: Opening batter
Varun Chakaravarthy
Varun Chakaravarthy has been one of the world’s leading bowlers in the T20I format for the past two years and holds the top spot in the ICC Men’s T20I Bowling Rankings. He has taken 59 wickets in his last 36 T20I matches before the World Cup, reflecting the important role he plays for the Indian team as a frequent match winner. Most of Chakaravarthy’s wickets in this period (34) came in 16 matches played on home soil, which is another reason he is expected to be one of the top performers in the 2026 T20 World Cup.
- Full name: Varun Chakaravarthy Vinod
- Playing style: Right-arm mystery spinner
- Role: Spin bowler
West Indies
Shimron Hetmyer
An aggressive left-handed batter with extensive T20I experience, Shimron Hetmyer has seen major success in T20 franchise competitions. He has a strike rate of more than 150 in the Indian Premier League and even better figures in the U.S.-based Major League Cricket tournament, with a strike rate of about 189. Hetmyer scored 64 runs off 36 balls during the West Indies’ first match in the 2026 T20 World Cup.
- Full name: Shimron Odilon Hetmyer
- Playing style: Left-hand batter
- Role: Middle-order batter/finisher
Romario Shepherd
Romario Shepherd, with his fast-medium pace bowling and power-hitting ability, has emerged as an excellent T20 all-rounder. He is among the top 10 in the ICC Men’s T20I All-rounder Rankings. Shepherd took a hat trick (dismissing three batters in three consecutive deliveries) to help the West Indies win its opening game in the 2026 T20 World Cup.
- Playing style: Right-hand batter; right-arm fast-medium
- Role: All-rounder
Sri Lanka
Pathum Nissanka
Among the top 10 in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings, Pathum Nissanka is one of Sri Lanka’s most reliable opening batters in the format. He scored 625 runs in 18 T20I matches in 2025 that included one century (scoring more than 100 runs in a single innings) and four 50-plus scores. He was the standout for his team at the Asia Cup held in September 2025. Nissanka scored the first century of the 2026 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka’s Group B match against Australia.
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- Full name: Pathum Nissanka Silva
- Playing style: Right-hand batter
- Role: Top-order batter
South Africa
Dewald Brevis
Dewald Brevis had been considered one of the most exciting South African T20 cricketers after his breakout at the 2022 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, but a string of poor performances led to his being dropped from the national team. In 2025 Brevis announced his return to the international stage with a stunning innings of 125 runs off 56 balls against Australia. His current strike rate of nearly 170 in T20Is indicates the damage he can inflict on opposing teams.
- Playing style: Right-handed batter
- Role: Middle-order batter
Aiden Markram
South African captain Aiden Markram was one of the top performing batters during the 2026 T20 World Cup, scoring three half-centuries (50 runs or more). He is also a useful off-spin bowler and one of South Africa’s top players in the format. Markram has been central to the team’s unbeaten run.
- Full name: Aiden Kyle Markram
- Playing style: Right-hand batter; right-arm off-break
- Role: Batting all-rounder
England
Harry Brook
Harry Brook was a member of the English team that won the 2022 T20 World Cup. Four years later he has been named captain and his team is one of three looking to win a third T20 World Cup (the other two being India and the West Indies). England’s hopes were boosted with Brook leading the team to a 3–0 T20I series win against Sri Lanka less than 10 days before the start of the 2026 T20 World Cup. He scored a crucial century during the Super Eight clash against Pakistan to lead his team into the knockout phase of the tournament. In October 2026 Brook became the first English player to score a double century (200 runs or more in an innings) in One Day Internationals (ODIs) when he made 202 runs in a match against Sri Lanka. He took 114 balls to reach the 200-run milestone and broke Indian batter Shubman Gill’s record of scoring a double century in 117 balls.
- Full name: Harry Cherrington Brook
- Playing style: Right-hand batter
- Role: Middle-order batter
Will Jacks
English squad player Will Jacks was a frequent match-winner for his team at the 2026 T20 World Cup, collecting four Player of the Match awards to equal Australian all-rounder Shane Watson’s record. He dismissed three Sri Lankan batters during the two teams’ Super Eight clash, and scored a crucial 32 runs off 18 balls to help his team achieve victory against New Zealand, ensuring England finished on top of its Super Eight group. Jacks has drawn high praise from cricket experts for his timely and useful contributions with both bat and ball.
- Full name: William George Jacks
- Playing style: Right-hand batter; right-arm off-break
- Role: All-rounder
Australia
Adam Zampa
Adam Zampa is the leading wicket taker in T20Is for the Australian squad, which entered the tournament fresh from a 3–0 loss in a T20I series against Pakistan. The Australian team was also left reeling after injuries to premier fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood ruled them out of playing in the 2026 T20 World Cup.
- Playing style: Right-arm leg-break–googly
- Role: Spin bowler
Pakistan
Sahibzada Farhan
Sahibzada Farhan has been an important part of Pakistan’s successes in the T20I format in recent years. He was one of the top batters during the 2025 Asia Cup and is among the top 10 in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings. Farhan is in excellent batting form at the 2026 T20 World Cup, scoring 73 runs off 41 balls and an unbeaten 100 runs off 58 balls in his team’s group-stage matches against the United States and Namibia, respectively, and another century in the Super Eight stage against Sri Lanka. Farhan became only the second batter after West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle to score more than one century in T20 World Cups, and Farhan is the only player to have scored more than one century in a single edition of the tournament.
- Playing style: Right-hand batter
- Role: Opening batter
Usman Tariq
Pakistani spinner Usman Tariq made the headlines for his unconventional bowling action after taking three wickets in his team’s clash against the United States at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. He made his T20I debut for Pakistan in 2025 and played his first franchise T20 match in the Pakistan Super League in 2023, where his action was reported as suspect twice. However, he passed the Pakistan Cricket Board’s tests on both occasions and was allowed to continue playing.
- Playing style: Right-arm off-break bowler
- Role: Spin bowler
New Zealand
Finn Allen
Finn Allen had an excellent season in the Big Bash League, Australia’s domestic Twenty20 franchise competition held from December 2025 to January 2026. He ended the tournament as the leading scorer and broke the record for hitting the most sixes in a single edition. He is considered one of the best opening batters in the format, with a blistering strike rate of about 165 and two hundreds in T20Is. Allen scored the fastest century in T20 World Cup history (100 runs off 33 balls) during his team’s semifinal match against South Africa.
- Full name: Finnley Hugh Allen
- Playing style: Right-hand batter
- Role: Top-order batter; wicketkeeper
Afghanistan
Rashid Khan
Afghanistan’s captain and leg-spin bowler Rashid Khan has been one of the forerunners of T20 bowling, which emphasizes control and pace over spinning the ball. Since making his debut in 2015 at age 17, he has grown into the world’s leading wicket taker in the T20I format. He was in third in the ICC Men’s T20I Bowling Rankings before the 2026 T20 World Cup and has developed into an excellent pinch hitter and finisher with the bat.
- Full name: Rashid Khan Arman
- Playing style: Right-arm leg-break–googly
- Role: All-rounder
United States
Shadley van Schalkwyk
South African-born Shadley van Schalkwyk has extensive first-class cricket experience, which allowed him to break into the U.S. national team in 2024. He burst into the spotlight during the early games of the 2026 T20 Men’s World Cup, taking three wickets in one over during the United States’ tournament opener against India and four wickets in the U.S. team’s next match against Pakistan.
- Full name: Shadley Claude van Schalkwyk
- Playing style: Left-hand batter; right-arm medium bowler
- Role: All-rounder
Canada
Yuvraj Samra
While playing in his team’s final group-stage match against New Zealand, 19-year-old Canadian batter Yuvraj Samra scored 110 runs off 65 balls, breaking several records in the process. He became the youngest player to score 100 or more runs in an innings in a T20 or ODI World Cup, and was also the first player from an associate nation to score a century in the history of the T20 World Cup. Samra, who is named for legendary Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh, made his T20I debut in March 2025 against Namibia.
- Full name: Yuvraj Singh Samra
- Playing style: Left-hand batter
- Role: Opening batter
Zimbabwe
Brian Bennett
Opening batter Brian Bennett has been Zimbabwe’s standout performer of the 2026 T20 World Cup, playing a major role in his team’s surprise run to the Super Eight stage, which included upset victories over Australia and Sri Lanka. Bennett was the second highest run scorer in the tournament as of the Super Eight stage, with three half-centuries to his credit, including an unbeaten 97 runs off 59 balls against India.
- Full name: Brian John Bennett
- Playing style: Right-hand batter; right-arm off-break
- Role: Batting all-rounder
2026 T20 World Cup Squads
A full list of the squads for the tournament is available in the table below.
| team | squad |
|---|---|
| *Brought in to replace an injured player after the deadline for naming the squad had passed. | |
| **Replacement captain. | |
| Afghanistan | Rashid Khan (captain), Noor Ahmad, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Sediqullah Atal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Ishaq Rahimi, Shahidullah Kamal, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Darwish Rasooli, Ibrahim Zadran, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi. Reserves: AM Ghazanfar, Ijaz Ahmadzai, and Farid Ahmad Malik |
| Australia | Mitchell Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Steve Smith*, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa |
| Canada | Dilpreet Bajwa (captain), Ajayveer Hundal, Ansh Patel, Dilon Heyliger, Harsh Thaker, Jaskarandeep Buttar, Kaleem Sana, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Ravinderpal Singh, Saad Bin Zafar, Shivam Sharma, Shreyas Movva, Yuvraj Samra |
| England | Harry Brook (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood |
| India | Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj*, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh |
| Ireland | Lorcan Tucker** (captain), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Ben White, Craig Young, Sam Topping* |
| Italy | Wayne Madsen (captain), Marcus Campopiano, Gian Piero Meade, Zain Ali, Ali Hasan, Crishan Jorge Kalugamage, Harry Manenti, Anthony Mosca, Justin Mosca, Syed Naqvi, Benjamin Manenti, Jaspreet Singh, JJ Smuts, Grant Stewart, Thomas Draca |
| Namibia | Gerhard Erasmus (captain), Zane Green, Bernard Scholtz, Ruben Trumpelmann, J.J. Smit, Jan Frylinck, Louren Steenkamp, Malan Kruger, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Jack Brassell, Alex Volschenk*, J.C. Balt, Dylan Leicher, W.P. Myburgh, Max Heingo |
| Nepal | Rohit Paudel (captain), Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Sundeep Jora, Aarif Sheikh, Basir Ahamad, Sompal Kami, Karan K.C., Nandan Yadav, Gulshan Jha, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sher Malla, Lokesh Bam |
| Netherlands | Scott Edwards (captain), Colin Ackermann, Noah Croes, Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Fred Klaassen, Kyle Klein, Michael Levitt, Zach Lion-Cachet, Max O'Dowd, Logan van Beek, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, Saqib Zulfiqar |
| New Zealand | Mitchell Santner (captain), Finn Allen, Cole McConchie*, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi |
| Oman | Jatinder Singh (captain), Vinayak Shukla, Mohammad Nadeem, Shakeel Ahmad, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Shah Faisal, Nadeem Khan, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra, Shafiq Jan, Ashish Odedara, Jiten Ramanandi, Aamir Kaleem |
| Pakistan | Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq |
| Scotland | Richie Berrington (captain), Tom Bruce, Matthew Cross, Bradley Currie, Oliver Davidson, Chris Greaves, Zainullah Ihsan, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Finlay McCreath, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Jack Jarvis*, Mark Watt, Bradley Wheal. Traveling reserves: Jasper Davidson, Non-traveling reserves: Mackenzie Jones, Chris McBride, Charlie Tear |
| South Africa | Aiden Markram (captain), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs |
| Sri Lanka | Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Janith Perera, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dushan Hemantha*, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka*, Pramod Madushan* |
| United Arab Emirates | Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Mayank Kumar, Muhammad Arfan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Haider Shah*, Rohid Khan, Sohaib Khan, Simranjeet Singh |
| United States | Monank Patel (captain), Ehsan Adil*, Andries Gous, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Saiteja Mukkamala, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Mohammad Mohsin, Shubham Ranjane |
| West Indies | Shai Hope (captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quentin Sampson, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd |
| Zimbabwe | Sikandar Raza (captain), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer, Bradley Evans, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Ben Curran* |