Two Indian teams playing at same time? BCCI sets massive pool for 35 players to reward IPL 2026 performers  

India and their players have been playing the T20Is for consecutive months. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side prepared themselves with the two series against South Africa and New Zealand ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, which they went on to win for two successive seasons, before turning their focus to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. 

Post this franchise tournament, India will tour Ireland for a T20I series before moving to England for a full white-ball series. That will be followed by another away series against Zimbabwe. If reports are to be believed, then they may play a two-match T20I series against Sri Lanka before heading home.

BCCI plans massive pool of 30-35 players for India’s T20I series

Most of the players will be burnt out mentally, having played these many games, even in the shortest format. They will need a break, both mentally and physically, to freshen up for this series. This will lead to the importance of having a massive pool of 30-35 players, and that’s exactly what BCCI has been planning.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has thought beyond the single core squad for the shortest format of the game. The urgency arrives with the Asian Games coinciding with a T20I series against the West Indies at home.

“The Asian Games and India vs West Indies T20 Series are going to be at the same time. So, we have to look at two T20 teams playing. It is important from now on to have a pool of 30-35 cricketers who can be called up for International assignments. For the upcoming Ireland tour, like most tours to the UK, a bigger pool of players will be kept in the squad. This will extend for the Asian Games.” The BCCI official has expressed to NDTV.

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The move comes as a strategic plan for the board members, who tried the same two squad-planning when India played the white-ball series in Sri Lanka and a Test series in England at the same time.

Who can make their India debut after IPL 2026 success?

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s name comes to everyone’s mind in that set-up. The 15-year-old should be fast-forwarded to the national senior team after he smashed 246 runs in six innings of the IPL 2026 at a strike rate of 236.53, thanks to two half-centuries. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag should also be back in their respective positions.

Priyansh Arya is another opener for the Indian side, as the southpaw has clubbed 211 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 248.23 with two fifties. Shreyas Iyer’s name will be hard to ignore with the PBKS captain dashing 208 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 182.43.

In the bowling department, Prasidh Krishna should get a place with the exciting Ashok Sharma, who has consistently clocked the 150 kmph mark in this IPL.