India's T20 Titans Eye Historic Title Defence with 'SKYball' Power

There is something surreal about this Indian line up, which has not dropped a series since Rohit Sharma broke the trophy drought by lifting the T20 WC back in 2024, going unbeaten throughout the competition. A fiery Abhishek (or should one say AbhiSix) Sharma, a reliable number three in Tilak Varma and the spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav are some of the things that have made India in T20Is a must-watch, entertaining team.

Defending the title on their home soil would make them the first ones to successfully defend their title and also win three T20 WCs. Besides that, the legacy of this set-up as one of the greatest teams of all time, up there with the West Indies of 1970s and 1980s or the Australian juggernaut which tormented the entire cricketing world in 2000s.

*Team India's record following 2024 T20 World Cup win

Following their T20 WC 2024 win, which was a swansong to nation's two-biggest match-winners, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, this young Team India has put on performances that are sure to make them beam with pride.

After that tournament, India has played 41 T20Is, winning 31 and losing just six. Two of each have ended in a tie and no result. India's home record looks imperious, having won 14 out of their 17 games and losing just three.

Coming to series-by-series breakdown, India have won all eight bilateral series and had an undefeated Asia Cup run.

-Zimbabwe tour in July 2024: 4-1

-Sri Lanka tour in July 2024: 2-0 (1 tied)

-Home series against Bangladesh in October 2024: 3-0

-Tour of South Africa in November 2024: 3-1

-Home series against England from Jan-Feb 2025: 4-1

-Asia Cup in September 2025: Won by winning six matches and tying one.

-Tour of Australia in November 2025: 2-1 (2 ended in NR)

-Home series against SA in November 2025: 3-1

-Home series against NZ in Jan 2026: 4-1

-Top performers for India after T20 WC till now:

*Abhishek Sharma: 1,297 runs in 38 matches, 37 innings at an average of 37.05 and a strike rate of above 194, with two centuries and eight fifties.

*Tilak Varma: 847 runs in 24 matches and 22 innings at an average of 60.5 and a strike rate of over 146, with two centuries and four fifties.

*Hardik Pandya: 579 runs in 29 matches and 23 innings at an average of 34.05 and a strike rate of 154.81, with three fifties and 21 wickets at an average of 31.47, with best figures of 2/23.

*Varun Chakravarthy: 57 matches in 30 innings at an average of 13.92, with a four-fer and two fifties.

*Arshdeep Singh: 39 wickets in 24 innings at an average of 18.94, with a fifer.

*Kuldeep Yadav: 25 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 12.84, with two four-fers.

-Strengths for Team India:

*Abhishek's red-hot form: Abhishek made a shaky start to his career in 2024, scoring just 256 runs in first 12 matches and 11 innings with a century and a fifty. However since 2025, he has turned things around, scoring 1,041 runs in 26 matches and innings at an average of 43.37 and a strike rate of over 201, with a centuries and seven fifties.

Abhishek is the number ranked batter in the world now and no one has hit more sixes than him amongst Test playing nations than his 88 maximums since the last T20 WC, with West Indies batter Shai Hope as his distant rival with 50.

*Tilak's reliability at #3: Tilak Varma has displayed impressive ability to switch gears, change his roles to a stabiliser to a full-on attacker within a jiffy that would make his predecessor Virat proud. The Asia Cup final knock of 69* in a tense 147-run-chase against Pakistan displayed his ability to come clutch in the most dire situations.

In 15 games at number three, Tilak has made 542 runs at an average of 60.22 and a strike rate of 160.83, including two centuries and three fifties.

*Surya's return to form: Going into the NZ series, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav was on a long slump, having not hit a fifty since October 2024. Not only did Surya end his 23-inning slump with a fifty in 2nd T20I, but also made a confidence-boosting return to form with 242 runs in five matches at an average of 80.66 and a strike rate of over 196, including three fifties. The Surya of the old days, with shots all over the ground, razor-sharp reflexes and supreme confidence looks truly back and its not a good sign for the bowlers. More 'Supla Shots' could be coming during the World Cup.

*Varun-Kuldeep duo lethal: The spin duo of Kuldeep and Varun has been dominant for Team India and have won several matches for Team India in this cycle. On familiar subcontinent conditions across India and Sri Lanka, which often assist spinners, the duo could continue their dominance and be India's ultimate match-winners with the ball. Varun's mystery spin has been extremely difficult to decipher for opponents and batters would sweat at the prospect of playing him in Asia.

*Best bowling average: Since the last T20 World Cup, Indian bowlers have the best bowling average (18.93) among all Test playing nations and their bowling economy rate of 7.93 is fourth-best, not too far from Afghanistan (7.35), Zimbabwe (7.51) Pakistan (7.75) who get the top three spots.

*Strike rate dominance: Once struggling with conservatism in their batting, with an increased focus on accumulation and less on accumulation, India has made giant strides in regards to strike rate, with their overall SR of 156.03 being the best since the last T20 WC among all teams and the SR of top-seven batters (158.21) being the second-best to England (158.57) among Test nations.

*Leading six-hitters since last WC: With 359 sixes being hit by India since the last T20 WC, they have given fans guaranteed entertainment for the most part and the opponents plenty of scares and things to ponder upon leading upto the tournament.

-Negatives for Team India:

*Pressure of home WC: For India, there is home advantage, sure. But playing the WC in home conditions is a double-edged sword. All the media scrutiny, home crowd pressure and the expectation to defend their title could be scary for the team. Their other-wordly dominance so far could become a burden the moment they slip the slightest. The 'Class of 2023' which lost to Australia in the final at Ahmedabad after a 10 match streak of wins, dominance and records is a proof. The law of averages and home pressure could catch up with India, as it has done with other teams/players in a variety of sports, including cricket.

-Sanju's poor form: Sanju has been sub-par with the bat since last year. Despite immense backing as an opener, he has managed just 97 runs in last 10 innings at the top at an average below 10. This NZ series was a total flop show as he could make just 46 runs in five innings.

Since last year, he has made just 268 runs in 16 innings at a sub-par average of 16.75 and a strike rate of over 120, with just one fifty to his name. The entry of Ishan Kishan, who slammed 215 runs in four matches during NZ series at a strike rate of over 231 with a century and a fifty has increased selector's headache: To whether persist with a struggling Samson and give him that confidence or to play a red-hot Ishan. India's batting during the World Cup hinges a lot on this question.

-Axar's sub-par returns with bat: In the T20 World Cup final, Axar's counterattacking 47 in 31 balls and partnership with Virat took India to a match-winning total of 176. The left-hander has also nailed his role as a number five in ODIs, playing a crucial role in Champions Trophy 2025 win. But somewhere, his T20I batting has regressed, scoring just 233 runs in 17 innings at an average of 19.41 and a strike rate of above 120. While Axar has been fine with the ball, taking 28 scalps in 27 matches, the Indian vice-captain is in a dire need of runs.

India T20 WC squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

- ANI