Having played 10 Test matches in 2025, India will, at best, play half that number in the new year. The highlight of 2026 will instead be packaged in a four-week window between February 7 and March 8, when they seek to defend the T20 World Cup crown clinched under Rohit Sharma in Bridgetown in June 2024.

Adding greater lustre to the title defence is the fact that India will play all their matches (except those against Pakistan) at home, lending more allure as well as the weight of expectations on Suryakumar Yadav’s men. Throughout 2025, the T20I squad reiterated its class and consistency; the 3-1 defeat of South Africa in December stretched India’s unbeaten run in the most unpredictable format to an impressive 15 series, the crowning glory being the all-win campaign at the Asia Cup in the UAE.