Van der Merwe, de Leede, Ackerman return as Netherlands announce squad for T20 World Cup 2026

Scott Edwards is set to lead Netherlands at the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Roelof van der Merwe, Bas de Leede, Michael Levitt, and Zach Lion-Cachet, all of whom missed Netherlands' tour of Bangladesh, have returned to the team, having last featured in T20 World Cup Europe Region Final, where Netherlands and Italy secured their spots for the upcoming World Cup.

Also marking his return to the side is veteran Colin Ackerman, who last represented the team in a T20I in 2024. Ackerman turned out for Durham in the 2025 Blast and managed 304 runs in 14 games. Timm van der Gugten, 34, is also back, having last played a T20I in the same year as Ackerman. The seamer picked six wickets in ten games for Glamorgan in the 2025 Blast.

Logan van Beek is another returnee, returning for the first time since the previous T20 World Cup in July 2024. In between, he represented Wellington in seven matches at the Super Smash in New Zealand, managing five wickets. Wicketkeepers Kyle Klein and Noah Croes are in line to play their first-ever T20 World Cup.

Teja Nidamanuru, Tim Pringle, and Vikramjit Singh are the notable omissions from the squad. The trio was part of the squad for Bangladesh series, as were Cedric de Lange, Sikander Zulfiqar, Sebastiaan Braat, Daniel Doram, Shariz Ahmad, and Ryan Klein, who all have been excluded.

Netherlands are placed in Group A with Pakistan, Namibia, the United States and defending champions India. They will commence their campaign against Pakistan on February 7 in Colombo, followed by games against Namibia (February 10 in Delhi), USA (February 13 in Chennai), and India (February 18 in Ahmedabad).

The upcoming one will be Netherlands’ seventh Men’s T20 World Cup, having made their debut in 2009.

Netherlands squad for T20 World Cup 2026

Scott Edwards (capt & wk), Noah Croes (wk), Max O'Dowd, Saqib Zulfiqar, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Paul van Meekeren, Fred Klaassen, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Michael Levitt, Zach Lion-Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Timm van der Gugten