Year Ahead 2026: 6 Key Questions for Indian Cricket as the New Season Approaches

After a mixed 2025, Indian cricket enters a crucial 2026 with key questions: defending the home T20 World Cup, settling T20I captaincy, managing Jasprit Bumrah’s workload, reviving WTC hopes, and defining ODI roles of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

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Questions for Indian Cricket Ahead of 2026

The year 2025 has witnessed Indian cricket enduring highs and lows, glory and setbacks, as the team experimented with new players and strategies across formats. Winning the Champions Trophy, Asia Cup, and Women’s World Cup were the biggest highlights for Team India, while inconsistent performances in Tests exposed areas that need strengthening ahead of the 2026 season.

As Indian cricket enters 2026 with a fresh chapter, here are six key questions that fans and experts are keen to see answered in the coming year.

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1. Can India Defend Their T20 World Cup Title at Home?

Team India will enter the T20 World Cup 2026 as the defending champions of the tournament, having won the title in 2024 under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. India is the co-host of the tournament alongside Sri Lanka. The Men in Blue will be led by Suryakumar Yadav, and the side has a big task of defending the crown that was won by Rohit Sharma and his boys. However, the biggest challenge for Team India is to translate their recent dominance in bilateral series into a global title.

Team India will begin their quest for the title against the USA in Group A on February 7, followed by matches against Namibia, Pakistan, and the Netherlands on February 12, 15, and 18, respectively. If the Men in Blue qualify for the final, they not only have an opportunity to script history of becoming the first team to defend the T20 World Cup title, but also the first team to win the marquee event on home soil.

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2. Who Will Succeed Suryakumar Yadav as T20I Captain?

It was reported that the upcoming T20 World Cup is likely to be Suryakumar Yadav’s last assignment as T20I captain, given that the selectors are expected to plan a long-term leadership strategy ahead of the next T20 World Cup in 2028. Since Suryakumar is 35 and will return 36 in September 2026, it is unlikely that he will continue as T20I captain beyond the 2026 World Cup.

However, the question is who will take over the T20I captaincy reins from Suryakumar Yadav. Shubman Gill was dropped from the World Cup squad, despite serving as a vice-captain until exclusion and lack of clarity on Hardik Pandya’s role, though he was the captain before the selectors appointed Suryakumar as the full-time captain in July last year. The selector needs to decide whether Axar Patel, who returned as vice-captain for the New Zealand T20I series and the T20 World Cup, is the best fit to take over T20I captaincy or back Shubman Gill as all-format captain.

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3. How will Team India Manage Jasprit Bumrah’s Workload?

Throughout 2025, one of the biggest topics of discussion among the Indian cricket fraternity was Jasprit Bumrah’s workload management. Due to past injury concerns, including a serious back injury, the Team India management has been carefully managing his workload, and thus, he played only three Tests out of five in the England series and did not play ODI cricket as they wanted to protect him for major series and big tournaments like the upcoming T20 World Cup at home.

In 2026, Team India will play 18 ODIs, five Tests, and five bilateral T20I series post the T20 World Cup 2026, continuing the challenge of managing Bumrah’s workload while ensuring India’s pace attack remains potent. There is an uncertainty whether Bumrah will feature in all five bilateral T20I series, as the ODI series remains a major assignment for the Men in Blue, keeping in 2027 World Cup. Therefore, the management needs to decide how to rotate Bumrah carefully, balancing rest and match exposure to keep him fresh and fully fit for the 2027 World Cup.

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4. Can India Women Replicate ODI World Cup Glory at T20 World Cup?

2025 has been an unforgettable year for the India Women's cricket team as they clinched their maiden World Cup triumph by defeating South Africa in the final. India ended a 47-year wait to lift the coveted Women’s ODI World Cup trophy in front of the home crowd, as their journey in the marquee event began in India. Though India Women finally won the ODI World Cup, the question is, can they replicate the same feat at the T20 World Cup in England and Wales?

The T20 World Cup is the major assignment for India Women this year, as they aim to carry forward the momentum from their historic ODI World Cup win. The Women in Blue are clubbed in Group A alongside Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, and two teams that will qualify through the global qualifiers. Before the Women’s T20 World Cup, India will play three T20I matches each against Australia and England as part of their preparations for the marquee event.

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5. Can Team India Revive Hopes of WTC Final Qualification?

India’s chances of qualifying for their third WTC Final received a major setback following the Test series whitewash at the hands of South Africa on home soil. Due to the series whitewash, India slipped to fifth spot on the points table, with four wins and as many losses, with a points percentage (PCT) of just 48.15 %. Now, Team India is sitting at the sixth spot on the points table after New Zealand’s win over West Indies in the second Test.

Under the guidance of Gautam Gambhir, Team India has the biggest challenge of regaining the momentum in the ongoing WTC Cycle 2025-27 as they will play two Test series away from home. India are scheduled to play two Tests against Sri Lanka in August, followed by a three-match series against New Zealand in October-November 2026. These two Test series are crucial for Team India to keep their WTC Final hopes alive.

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6. How Many ODIs Will Rohit and Kohli Play in 2026?

The two Indian batting stalwarts, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, concluded their 2025 on a high note with dominating performances in the ODI series against Australia and South Africa, alongside a remarkable comeback to the Vijay Hazare Trophy. After retirement from Tests and T20Is, the batting duo are only focusing on ODI cricket, intending to extend their illustrious career till the 2027 World Cup.

In 2026, India are scheduled to play 18 ODI matches across six bilateral series against New Zealand (home and away), Afghanistan (home), England (away), West Indies (home), and Sri Lanka (home). However, the question is whether Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will play all six ODI series or the BCCI and Team India management will rotate them to manage workload and keep them fresh for the 2027 World Cup.