Mumbai, Dec 20 : In a surprising development, defending champions India have left out Shubman Gill from its squad for next yearâ??s T20 World Cup and T20Is against New Zealand. In the squad announced by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, captain Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain.

Apart from Gill, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma misses out as Ishan Kishan makes a stunning return to the team, following his explosive form leading Jharkhand to a recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win. Meanwhie, Rinku Singh also makes his return to the T20I team after missing out on the 3-1 series win in South Africa.

â??We are looking at combinations. Our thought was to have another keeper. Gill is a quality player, unfortunate to miss out, but it is the combination we want. Ishan bats at the top, he has been in good form, and played before for India.

â??He wasn't there because Jurel and Pant were ahead. Sanju is at the top. Ishan at the top. That is the combination we are looking at right now. We felt he is the best back up keeper at this point,â?? said Agarkar.

The 2026 Menâ??s T20 World Cup, to be held from February 7 to March 8, will have 40 group matches scheduled to be played till February 20. Top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the Super Eights starting on February 21.

India and Sri Lanka are hosting the Menâ??s T20 World Cup for the second time. Sri Lanka were the hosts of the 2012 edition, while India last hosted the competition in 2016. After the completion of the three-match ODI series, India will play five T20Is against New Zealand, starting on January 21 in Nagpur, followed by games in Raipur, Guwahati, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram.

In the Menâ??s T20 World Cup, defending champions India have been placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, USA, Netherlands and Namibia. The Men in Blue will be aiming to become the first team to successfully defend the Menâ??s T20 World Cup title, the first team to win the T20 World Cup on home soil, and the first team to clinch the T20 world title for a third time.

India will open its Cup campaign against USA at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 7, before facing Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on February 12.

Indiaâ??s marquee clash against Pakistan is scheduled for February 15 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, before the side plays their final league stage game against the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 18.

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar and Ishan Kishan.

/IANS