ICC Names Team of the Tournament Following India's T20 World Cup Victory

Kathmandu. Defending champions India created history by defeating New Zealand by 96 runs in the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 held in Ahmedabad on Sunday, becoming the first team to win the title twice in a row.

Although India dominated the World Cup held on home soil, many players captured the world's attention with their outstanding performances throughout the month-long tournament. The ICC has announced the Best Team of the Tournament, comprising these top-performing players.

This team was selected by a selection committee comprising West Indies legend Ian Bishop, former England captain Eoin Morgan, commentator-turned-coach Natalie Germanos, ICC representative Gaurav Saxena, and senior Sri Lankan sports journalist Rex Clementine.

The selected players and their performances in the Best Team are as follows:

Sahibzada Farhan (Pakistan)

(7 matches, 383 runs, 76.60 average, 160.25 strike rate)

Although Pakistan's performance in the tournament was inconsistent, Sahibzada Farhan remained consistently in form. Despite Pakistan exiting in the 'Super Eight' stage, the 383 runs he scored in 7 matches is the highest total scored by any batter in a single edition of the T20 World Cup. The 29-year-old opener also became the first batter to hit two centuries in a single T20 World Cup edition. His highlight was scoring a century in the final Super Eight match against Sri Lanka, securing a thrilling 5-run victory for his team.

Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper, India)

(5 matches, 321 runs, 80.25 average, 199.37 strike rate)

Sanju Samson played a crucial role in India's resounding victory and was also declared the 'Player of the Tournament'. Although he initially couldn't secure a spot in the star-studded Indian playing XI, he made an excellent comeback at the decisive moments of the tournament. The right-handed batter found his rhythm by scoring an unbeaten 97 against West Indies in the final Super Eight match, which was a 'do or die' game for India. Following that, he played magnificent innings of 89 against England in the semi-final and another 89 in the final against New Zealand. He became the third player to score a half-century in both the final and semi-final, and the second batter to score over 80 runs in three consecutive matches.

Ishan Kishan (India)

(9 matches, 317 runs, 35.22 average, 193.29 strike rate)

Ishan Kishan left a deep impact with his consistently aggressive batting at the opening position. His three half-centuries were notable, and the left-handed batter also made important and aggressive contributions of 38 runs against Zimbabwe and 39 runs against England. His best performance came against arch-rivals Pakistan. When India lost early wickets, Kishan played a magnificent innings of 77 runs off 40 balls, including 10 fours and 3 sixes. His comeback journey, after being sidelined for the last two years, was completed with a contribution of 54 runs in the final and two crucial catches.

Aiden Markram (Captain, South Africa)

(8 matches, 286 runs, 47.66 average, 165.31 strike rate)

Under Aiden Markram's captaincy, South Africa won the first 7 matches of the tournament consecutively. Never shying away from responsibility, he opened the batting and scored three half-centuries. He was particularly impressive in Ahmedabad, where he scored an unbeaten 86 against New Zealand in the group stage and an unbeaten 82 against West Indies in the Super Eight. In the match against India, Markram also took the lead with his bowling, taking the wicket of Ishan Kishan in the first over to give the team a breakthrough. Although the team was eliminated in the semi-finals, the way he managed and supported the talented South African bowling lineup was highly commendable.

Hardik Pandya (India)

(9 matches, 217 runs, 160.74 strike rate, 9 wickets)

Due to his ability to change the outcome of the game with both bat and ball, Hardik Pandya has been the main pillar of the Indian team's success in recent years. He maintained that form in the T20 World Cup, scoring 217 runs and taking 9 wickets. Pandya scored two half-centuries, among which his explosive 50 runs off 23 balls against Zimbabwe was very significant. With that support, India posted a massive total of 256/4, the second-highest score in the tournament's history. In bowling, his best performance was taking 2 wickets for 16 runs in 3 overs against Pakistan. Bowling the opening spell, he dismissed Pakistan's key batter Farhan for zero and bowled Usman Tariq.

Will Jacks (England)

(8 matches, 226 runs, 176.56 strike rate, 9 wickets)

This tournament became a turning point for Will Jacks, where he emerged as one of the best all-rounders of the T20 World Cup. Dropped down the batting order, he perfectly fulfilled the role of a finisher. His best performance was an unbeaten 53 against Italy, and he also played a crucial cameo against India and an unbeaten 32 in the Super Eight against New Zealand to secure a resounding victory for his team. The off-spinner took 3 wickets in the match against Sri Lanka to give his team a 51-run victory. Jacks won four 'Player of the Match' awards, equaling Shane Watson's record in the T20 World Cup.

Jason Holder (West Indies)

(7 matches, 10 wickets, 141 runs)

Fast bowler and lower-order aggressive batter Jason Holder was one of the stars of the tournament. His all-round ability was evident in the Super Eight match against India, where he conceded 38 runs and took 2 wickets, while also scoring an unbeaten 37 runs off 22 balls. Although West Indies lost that match. The 6-foot-7-inch bowler generated good bounce even on flat pitches. Against Nepal at Wankhede Stadium, he took 4 wickets, including the top three batsmen, conceding 27 runs to give his team a one-sided 9-wicket victory.

Jasprit Bumrah (India)

(8 matches, 14 wickets, 12.42 average, 6.21 economy)

Indian batting is certainly formidable for the opposition, but Jasprit Bumrah is the player who consistently keeps the team one step ahead of the rest. In this World Cup too, he became the joint highest wicket-taker along with his teammate Varun Chakaravarthy. He saved his best performance for the final, where he was named 'Player of the Match' after taking 4 wickets for 15 runs against New Zealand. Bumrah's ability to take timely wickets and disrupt the rhythm of the opposition's batting makes him special. His ability to bowl accurate yorkers in the death overs makes it difficult for opponents to score runs. In the semi-final against England, although he took only 1 wicket, he turned the tide of the game by conceding only 6 runs in the 18th over. In that match where 499 runs were scored, Bumrah's economy was 8.25, which was the best among both teams. Perhaps this is why England fell short by 7 runs.

Lungi Ngidi (South Africa)

(7 matches, 12 wickets, 15.58 average, 7.19 economy)

Lungi Ngidi, one of the best pacers of the tournament, started the World Cup with a performance of 4/31 against Canada and took 3 wickets on two other occasions. In the match against India, although he didn't take a wicket, he conceded only 15 runs in 4 overs, preventing the Indian batters from playing freely. On batting-friendly pitches, Ngidi expertly utilized his experience, variations, and slower balls.

Adil Rashid (England)

(8 matches, 13 wickets, 19.23 average, 8.15 economy)

Adil Rashid is the only specialist spinner included in this Team of the Tournament. He was instrumental in helping England win 6 out of the first 7 matches, particularly by taking good advantage of the Sri Lankan conditions. Although his best figures on paper were 3/36 against Scotland, his role in the victories against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in the Super Eight was crucial. After Sri Lanka was restricted to 146/9, Rashid conceded only 13 runs in 3.4 overs while taking 2 wickets, dismantling the home team. Against India, he attempted to control the damage by taking the wickets of Ishan and Suryakumar Yadav.

Blessing Muzarabani (Zimbabwe)

(6 matches, 13 wickets, 14.46 average, 7.88 economy)

Blessing Muzarabani was the main weapon in Zimbabwe's splendid journey in this World Cup. Zimbabwe, who missed the 2024 edition, achieved their best performance in T20 World Cup history by reaching the Super Eight stage. Zimbabwe announced their arrival by defeating Australia by 23 runs. Muzarabani took only 17 runs while taking 4 wickets to restrict Australia to 146 runs while chasing a target of 169 runs. He took 9 wickets in 3 group stage matches, leading his team to the top spot in Group 'B'.

Shadley van Schalkwyk (12th Player, USA)

(4 matches, 13 wickets, 7.76 average, 6.80 economy)

American fast bowler Schalkwyk proved to be the best bowler of the group stage. Although the USA could not reach the Super Eight, repeating their 2024 success, Schalkwyk's performance remained at a high level. He put the home team under pressure at 77/6 at one point by taking 4 wickets against India. He then also bowled excellently against Pakistan, taking 4 wickets for only 25 runs.