Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh missing from India's T20I squad, Tilak Varma named vice captain

Star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya hasn’t been selected in India’s T20I squad for the Ireland and England tours as well as the Asian Games 2026. Pandya was a part of India’s recent T20 World Cup 2026 winning campaign at home, where he scored 217 runs and picked nine wickets. 

However, the all-rounder suddenly finds himself out of the squad with the selectors considering Nitish Kumar Reddy ahead of him. Pandya recently had a poor campaign in the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026), scoring 206 runs and scalping four wickets as he led Mumbai Indians (MI) to a ninth-place finish.

Commenting on Pandya’s snub, chief Selector Ajit Agarkar said that the all-rounder is very much a part of the team’s ODI plans and they’re prioritising his fitness for the World Cup 2027.

“He is part of ODIs. Like Jasprit Bumrah, main objective is to see if he can start playing well and stay healthy for the 50-over World Cup,” said Agarkar in the press conference.

Kuldeep Yadav also not named in T20Is

Meanwhile, Tilak Varma has been named the new vice-captain of the team in place of Axar Patel, who held the position during the T20 World Cup. Wrist spinner Ravi Bishnoi has also marked his comeback after last playing the T20I series against New Zealand ahead of the World Cup.

Harshit Rana also returns after recovering from the knee surgery that ruled him out of the World Cup and the IPL 2026. Fast bowler Prince Yadav has also earned his maiden T20I call-up following a stellar campaign in the IPL, where he picked 16 wickets from 14 games for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Senior speedster Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the Ireland and England tours but has been picked for the Asian Games 2026. The notable absentees from the squad were Rinku Singh and Kuldeep Yadav, who both had a lacklustre IPL and also found it difficult to find a place in the playing XI, not fitting in the team's combinations.

India squad for Ireland tour and England tour: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.

India squad for Asian Games 2026: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.