Top 5 Contenders for ICC T20 World Cup 2026

The 10th edition of the T20 World Cup in 2026 will begin in the first week of February as the defending champions- India- and the 2014 winners of the competition- Sri Lanka- play the hosts of the 20-team event. Heading into any season of the ICC tournament, the Blue Brigade remains the favorite.

With the experience of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the players from Australia, England, South Africa, and New Zealand will also keep themselves ahead for their bowling and batting skills in the T20 World Cup. However, the term ‘favorites’ may not get applied to the other formats apart from the T20Is.

A look at the top 5 contenders for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka

1.   India

In the previous season of the T20 World Cup in 2024, they completed an unbeaten campaign to win the title against South Africa in the final at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. This time, they will be under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, in the absence of two of their veteran players- Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the playing eleven.

India’s squad:

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

They have the powerful batting of Abhishek Sharma at the opening position, with their premier all-rounder, Hardik Pandya, being in his best form with the bat. Jasprit Bumrah will be the leader of the pace attack, along with full support from Arshdeep Singh. In the spin department, both Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav will take care of the middle overs.

2.   Australia

It’s anyway foolish to keep Australia out of the top contenders for an ICC event. That was the same mistake everyone made after their two defeats to begin the ODI World Cup 2023, which they went on to win later on. In this T20 World Cup 2026, they will have some serious power with the bat.

Australia’s squad:

Mitchell Marsh (C), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.

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They have their captain, Mitchell Marsh, and Travis Head in the aggressive opening pair, along with Tim David and Glenn Maxwell in the middle order. In the bowling department, Nathan Ellis will be crucial in the death overs, while Adam Zampa will need to shoulder the spin department. However, they won’t have Mitchell Starc, who has already retired from T20Is, while Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood continue to recover from injury.

3.   England

England, the two-time champions of the T20 World Cup in 2010 and 2022, will be under the captaincy of Harry Brook for the 2026 season. Jos Buttler will remain the veteran of the batting as Jofra Archer returns in the pace bowling department.

England’s squad:

Harry Brook (c), 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

Archer, who was ruled out of the last half of the Ashes 2025/26 and won’t take part in the Sri Lanka series as preparation for the event, will need to shoulder the responsibility of the bowling department along with Luke Wood. Adil Rashid will be the leader of the spin bowling department.

4.   South Africa

South Africa has been excellent with the bat and ball in the last few series in the shortest format, despite not winning many bilateral series. The runners-up from the last season will nearly have the same batting line-up from the last season, with Dewald Brevis as an exciting inclusion.

South Africa’s squad

Aiden Markram(c), Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi, Jason Smith, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje.

Anrich Nortje has been firing thunderbolts in the ongoing SA20 as he will have the backing of Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. For the all-rounders’ part, they will have Marco Jansem. Meanwhile, the selectors decided to drop Tristan Stubbs and brought Donovan Ferreira into the squad.

5.   New Zealand

New Zealand is the most consistent side in the ICC competitions of late, and they will continue to do so in the T20 World Cup 2026 under the leadership of Mitchell Santner. It will be a new-look bowling attack under Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, and Jacob Duffy.

New Zealand’s provisional squad:

Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Ish Sodhi

Glenn Phillips will be a crazy prospect in the lower order, while Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra are expected to bat in the top order. Ish Sodhi is a top-class spinner.