Top 5 youngest players in T20 World Cup 2026

Several talented youngsters will be seen in action during the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup. The tournament, which runs from February 7 to March 8, will provide a fantastic platform for these young players to showcase their skills alongside the greats of the game.

Almost every team in the global extravaganza has opted to keep a balance between youngsters and veterans. The opportunity to rub shoulders with legends of the game will allow the juniors to hone their skills in a competitive environment.

Here are the top 5 youngest players in T20 World Cup 2026:

5. Ajayveer Hundal

Ajayveer Hundal will be representing Canada, who are set to play the T20 World Cup for the second time. Hundal is a 20-year-old all-rounder for the Maple Leafers. He has just made one T20I appearance so far in his career.

Hundal also has one List A appearance and one T20 appearance to his name. His only T20I appearance came against Namibia at Windhoek in March 2025, when he was just 19 years old. He will look to impress everyone with his multidimensional contributions in the twenty-team tournament.

4. Gulshan Jha

Gulshan Jha is a talented all-rounder from Nepal. He bats left-handed and bowls right-arm medium pace. The Sarlahi-born might just be 19 years old, but he has already played 40 ODIs and 51 T20Is since making his international debut in September 2021.

Jha will turn 20 years old on February 17. He has scored 629 runs in 40 innings in T20Is at an average of 21.68 and a strike rate of 144.93. With the ball, he has bagged 29 wickets at an average of 22.03 and an economy rate of 7.22, showcasing his all-round prowess at such a young age.

3. Zainullah Ihsan

Zainullah Ihsan has been named in Scotland’s squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup. He is just 19 years old and has not made his T20I debut as yet. However, Ihsan has represented Scotland’s U-19 team.

Ihsan, who is a potent right-arm fast bowler, will celebrate his 20th birthday on March 28. The Afghanistan-born, in fact, has been called up to the senior team for the first time in his young career. Another interesting story about him is that he came to Scotland as an asylum seeker and became eligible to play after spending a lot of time in the country.

2. Kwena Maphaka

Kwena Maphaka is the youngest player among Test-playing nations to take part in the impending T20 World Cup. The right-arm speedster played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Mumbai Indians in March 2024 at the age of just 17.

Now, the 19-year-old seamer has played two Tests, three ODIs, and 15 T20Is for the Proteas. The left-arm pacer has 15 wickets to his name in the shortest format at an average of 32.20 and a strike rate of 19.87. He is currently playing the T20I series between South Africa and the West Indies.

1. Yuvraj Samra

Yuvraj Samra is a talented opening batter from Canada, who was the leading run-getter for them in the T20 World Cup Americas Region qualifiers last year. He was also the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament.

The 19-year-old left-handed batter will be the youngest player in the T20 World Cup. He has played eight ODIs and 16 T20Is for Canada. In his T20I career, Samra has aggregated 442 runs at an average of 36.83 and a strike rate of 160.72. He has also taken two wickets in the format.