T20 World Cup 2026 | No place for Kuldeep: India skipper Suryakumar all but confirms bowling line-up

India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav has all but confirmed the bowling line-up and combination for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 and there's no place for chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Speaking after India's final T20I of the five-match series against New Zealand, SKY revealed that 'two spinners and two pacers' is a good option for them, considering the grounds and conditions. The ICC tournament, which starts Feb 7, is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka with SKY's team set to play all their matches in India except against Pakistan, which is scheduled in Colombo on Feb 15. The India vs Pakistan contest is, however, uncertain with Pakistan government announcing boycott of the match on Sunday (Feb 1).

Surya all but confirms India's bowling combination for T20 World Cup 2026

"With such a high-risk, high-reward game at the top, we definitely need an extra batter at No. 8. So Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel all bowling their quotas is a big boost. And then Hardik [Pandya] and Shivam Dube can chip in with two-two overs, some days maybe Abhishek Sharma too. So we have a lot of bowling options," said Surya after the final India vs NZ T20I on Saturday (Jan 31).

Shall India go by SKY's line-up, Kuldeep Yadav and Harshit Rana may found themselves on the bench barring rotation or injury.

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Explaining his reasons on why the bowling line-up doesn't include three spinners as it did during the Asia Cup, which took place in the UAE, SKY said: "During the Asia Cup, the ground dimensions were completely different," he said. "It was a bigger ground and the wickets were a little on the slower side. So we needed that extra spinner. But in India, I think the wickets will be quite good. So two fast bowlers and two spinners is a good combination to go ahead with."

Surya finds his from in time for India

In the recently-concluded 5-T20I series against New Zealand, which India won 4-1 in last assignment before the T20 WC, skipper Surya roared back to form. He scored 242 runs in five matches with three fifties and a highest of 82 not out at an average of 80 and a strike rate of nearly 197. Before the NZ series, SKY had scored almost same runs in 25 matches - marking his return to form before India start their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign as defending champions.