Former India captain and head coach Anil Kumble feels Punjab Kings (PBKS) openers Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh and Rajasthan Royals' (RR) 14-year-old opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi will be in contention for a spot in India's squad for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at home. In addition to the three youngsters who made their mark in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Kumble backed Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Yashasvi Jaiswal to find a place too.
While Gill and Jaiswal have played T20Is for India, Sudharsan made his T20I debut in Zimbabwe but did not get to bat. Also, Sanju Samson will be returning to the side after missing a few T20Is due to injury. Kumble feels that skipper Suryakumar Yadav, head coach Gautam Gambhir and selectors will face a challenge while picking the squad.
"Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Vaibhav Suryavanshi — all of them will definitely be in contention for a World Cup spot. It’s about using the remaining T20s before the tournament to figure out the best 15-man squad. You already have Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Yashasvi Jaiswal — all Test players who can also thrive in T20s. Then there's Sanju Samson. So it’s going to be a challenge figuring out who makes the cut. Fitness will play a key role — you want a fully fit squad going into a World Cup, and I’m sure that’s something the selectors and management will be closely monitoring," Kumble told JioStar.
How young guns performed in IPL 2025
Sudharsan won the Orange Cap in the IPL 2025. The GT batter scored 759 runs at an average of 54.21, including one century and six half-centuries. While Samson and Abhishek Sharma have been opening in T20Is, Gill made his case by scoring 650 runs at an average of 50, including six fifties in IPL 2025.
Samson missed a few games due to injury which led to 14-year-old Suryavanshi make his IPL debut. The youngster scored 252 runs from seven innings, including the fastest IPL century by an Indian batter. His strike rate of 206.55 impressed many.
PBKS openers played a huge role in helping their team reach the IPL 2025 final for the first time in 11 years. Prabhsimran had a breakthrough season and scored 549 runs at an average of 32.29, including four fifties. Arya in his debut season scored 475 runs at an average of 27.94, including a century and two fifties. His strike rate is 179.24.
Uthappa in awe of Sudharsan
Meanwhile, former Indian opener Robin Uthappa has backed Sudharsan to do well across three formats. He is in awe of his technique and the changes made to improve the strike rate. He agreed with Kumble's choice of youngsters making it big in the future.
"One name that immediately comes to mind is Sai Sudharsan. His evolution over the last couple of years has been phenomenal. Just last year, he was retired out in a game for not scoring quickly enough. And this year, he hasn’t changed his technique or approach — he’s just added a couple of shots, knows when to accelerate, and suddenly his strike rate has jumped from 130 to 170. Now, he’s the Orange Cap holder. That’s mighty impressive. I genuinely believe he’s one of India’s future three-format players, alongside the likes of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal — all young guns in their own right. Then you’ve got players like Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, and so many others stepping up. This is a boiling pot of talent — and I don’t think it’s slowing down anytime soon," Uthappa said during the same conversation.
India's next T20I assignment is in Bangladesh. It will be interesting to see if any of the IPL sensations make their way into the T20I squad. The T20I series will be played from August 26 to August 31.