T20 World Cup 2026: Best Playing XI of the tournament

The T20 World Cup 2026 proved to be a blockbuster one. And after 55 gruelling matches between some of the best cricketing sides in the world, hosts India came out victorious, clinching their third-ever T20 World Cup title, led by skipper Suryakumar Yadav. The Men in Blue defeated New Zealand by 96 runs to claim the victory. 

The global tournament was filled with some iconic performances, some individual brilliance and some career-defining outings. In this article, CricTracker lists its best Playing XI from the twenty-team tournament, where the Indian team emerged as the ultimate champion by defeating the BlackCaps in Ahmedabad.

Here’s CricTracker’s Team of the Tournament for T20 World Cup 2026: 

Top-order: Sahibzada Farhan, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan

Opening the batting will be a dynamic duo of India and Pakistan, Sanju Samson and Sahibzada Farhan. Samson’s inclusion needs no explanation here. He had a tremendous campaign with the bat after returning to the playing XI. In five matches, he scored 321 runs, which includes his three iconic innings and became Player of the Tournament.

Opening alongside him will be Pakistan’s dynamic opener Sahibzada Farhan. He was the highest run-scorer of the tournament, with 383 runs to his name, including two centuries. At number 3, India’s Ishan Kishan will give this side an attacking option. The wicketkeeper-batter had a stellar World Cup, scoring 317 runs in nine matches. One of them, either he or Samson, can keep the wickets.

Middle-order: Shimron Hetmyer, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner (c)

The middle order is stacked with match winners across the globe. The West Indies’ southpaw will lead the pack with his hitting prowess. In seven matches, he scored 248 runs with a stunning strike rate of 186.46, including two fifties. He will be accompanied by India’s all-round duo of Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. Hardik had a stellar campaign with both bat and ball, scoring 217 runs with the bat while also picking up nine wickets with the ball. Dube, too, played some impactful knocks when his team needed him to.

England’s premier all-rounder Will Jacks finds himself in this playing XI on the back of one of the most remarkable campaigns by a player, as he managed to win four Player of the Match awards for his performance. At number eight, we have New Zealand’s skipper Mitchell Santner. He will also captain this side. Despite him only picking up two wickets, he captained his side well, scoring some valuable runs when required.

Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Lungi Ngidi, Blessing Muzarabani

India’s magician with the ball, Jasprit Bumrah, will lead the bowling attack. He had a tremendous T20 World Cup and was instrumental in India’s championship campaign. In eight matches, he picked up 14 wickets at an impressive economy of 6.21.

Accompanying him will be the duo of Lungi Ngidi and Blessing Muzarabani. Nagidi had a good run, providing South Africa breakthroughs whenever required. Who can forget Muzarabani’s spell against Australia. The Zimbabwe pacer picked up 13 wickets with the ball.