Former India opener Wasim Jaffer, while giving his opinion on the team selection for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, has said that he would have liked to see Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jitesh Sharma in the team instead of Ishan Kishan and Washington Sundar. Jaffer’s comment came at a time when India did not include Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill in the squad announced for the five-match T20 preparation series against New Zealand and the World Cup title defense.

Wasim Jaffer’s advise to BCCI for T20 World Cup squad

Speaking on the team selection, Jaffer wrote on the social media platform ‘X’ that he doesn’t understand the omission of Jaiswal and Jitesh. According to him, Axar is the vice-captain, so his place in the playing XI is almost guaranteed, and with Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav in the spin department, it would be difficult to prioritize Washington Sundar. Jaffer also said that Jitesh Sharma did not give any reason for his exclusion from the team, while there is no need for any clarification on the ability of Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Yashasvi Jaiswal last played a T20 International for India during the Sri Lanka tour in July 2024. After that, he was unable to consistently feature in the T20 team due to his Test cricket responsibilities. The 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, with a total of 20 teams participating.

India are the defending champions, having won the title by defeating South Africa by seven runs in the final played in Barbados in June 2024. India have been drawn in Group A for the upcoming tournament, along with Pakistan, the United States, the Netherlands, and Namibia.