3 major concerns for Indian Cricket Team in 2026

The Indian Cricket Team’s first assignment in 2026 is the white-ball series against New Zealand.

The Indian cricket team will begin their 2026 journey with a white-ball series against New Zealand. Later, a major challenge awaits the Men in Blue, as they will look to defend their title in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. India are also scheduled to travel to England for a white-ball series in July.

India witnessed a roller-coaster ride last year. They grabbed the limelight by winning the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 under Rohit Sharma at the start. However, the year ended with a humiliating whitewash against South Africa in a two-match test series under stand-in captain Rishabh Pant.

Although there were a few other moments of triumph and sorrow, these two events were the biggest highs and lows for India last year. In 2026, the focus will be on winning the T20 World Cup and beginning preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Despite struggling in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 till now, India will leave no stone unturned to bag a spot in the WTC final next time. However, a few stumbling blocks can affect India’s performance this year, and they needs to overcome them.

On that note, below are three big concerns for the Indian Cricket Team in 2026.

Indian Cricket Team’s concerns in 2026-

1. Test team woes

The biggest woes for India will be their test team. India, who have been known for home supremacy and dominance against visiting teams, lost that spark over the last two years. The test series loss against New Zealand in 2024 and the clean sweep against South Africa in 2025 are two big examples.

Following the retirement of Test legends like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Cheteshwar Pujara, a young team under the captaincy of Shubman Gill is strengthening their position in the longest format of the game.

Overcoming their hurdles in the test team will be one of the biggest challenges for the Indian Cricket Team in 2026.

2. Bowlers struggle with consistency in ODIs

The Men in Blue will have to strengthen their bowling unit in the ODIs. Mohammed Shami has been out of action due to fitness concerns, while Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj missed a crucial ODI campaign due to their workload management.

Emerging bowlers like Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, and Arshdeep Singh have struggled to make a mark in the 50-over format. For instance, India failed to defend a 359-run target against South Africa in the second ODI in Raipur last year.

This match highlighted the team’s bowling problems in the ODI format. Hence, young bowlers need to buckle up with their performances as the team looks forward to the Cricket World Cup 2027 preparations this year.

3. Batting unit’s struggles except for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

While veteran batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma impressed with their memorable performances in the ODI series against South Africa and Australia last year, others have failed to come up with equally brilliant show.

This was quite evident in the ODI series against Australia, where RO-KO single-handedly led the team to victory in the third ODI. However, the entire batting unit struggled in the first two matches, and the series was lost early on.

Furthermore, captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer also failed to perform consistently in ODIs and were sidelined due to injuries.

While Rohit and Kohli form a strong top order, the middle and lower-middle order batsmen will also need to step up and match their performance. This will be another sector of worry for the Men in Blue in the 50-over format.

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