India have won the FIFA World Cup T20 2026. In their first tournament without demigods Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the relatively young Indian team produced a performance for the ages at the Narendra Modi Stadium to clinch their second title in a row.
Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, players who spent years on the periphery of the Indian line-up came together at the right moments to help India bury the ghosts on November 19, 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
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It wasn’t a straightforward title in the slightest. The Indian team had to toil and toil hard after a sudden dip in form at the start of the World Cup. The co-hosts were so ill-adapted to the ICC surfaces that the USA reduced them to 77/6 and then dismissed South Africa for 111 in the tournament.
But the team found clutch performances when they needed them most. Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and in the final, Abhishek Sharma all raised their hands and claimed responsibility in the post-Rohit-Kohli era.
ISHAN STEALS ABHISHEK’S THUNDER
A small glimpse of that was seen in the post-match chat between reporters and Ishan-Abhishek in the press room in Ahmedabad. When asked about the struggles the team members had to go through, Abhishek jumped to the microphone, ready to blurt out the mental pain he underwent to revive his form just in time for the finals.
But just before he could answer, Ishan Kishan snatched the moment from him.
“I can answer that too. You were out of form for a month, I spent two years out of the team.”
Kishan’s reply made Abhishek and the entire press room burst into laughter.
And it was true. Dropped from the team due to dissent and then shunned for not prioritizing domestic cricket, the left-hander had to work his way into the system the hard way.
Left out, Kishan adjusted his mental space in his first year of exile. In the second, he started piling up runs in almost every game. The diminutive left-hander even led his state of Jharkhand to their first ever victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the country’s premier domestic T20 competition.
Kishan himself scored 517 runs in that campaign and forced the selectors to bring him back into the Indian team.
Everyone knows that in the Indian cricket ecosystem, a steep rise, if not handled well, can result in an equally steep fall. And Ishan knew that getting into the Indian team was only half the job.
Due to lucky to break into the playing eleven due to Sanju Samson’s poor form, Kishan announced his arrival against Namibia and Pakistan with two aggressive strikes. When the rest of the team crumbled, Kishan stood tall, not only holding one end together but attacking relentlessly even as wickets kept falling around him.
And maybe at the end of the tournament, Kishan finally got a breather. Banished by the BCCI in 2023, with his career in jeopardy, he planned a comeback for the ages. T20 World Cup: Ishan Kishan scores 321 runs from 9 innings (AP Photo)
At a time when it is increasingly difficult to look at the BCCI or world cricket in a positive light, Kishan’s story reminded people of something simple about the Indian cricket ecosystem.
Grind hard. Play fair. Make your comeback.
Opportunities will come. It will then be up to you whether you stick to them.
But Kishan’s story spans over two years. Instead, let’s focus on the smaller moments.
THE SMALLEST MOMENTS MATTER FT. SHIVAM DUBE
And ironically, some of the smallest but most significant moments came from one of the biggest men in the Indian team, Shivam Dube.
Once pigeonholed as just a freak, Dube has shown remarkable growth and poise with the bat. The jury is still out on his credentials, but that hasn’t stopped him from performing when India needed him.
66-of-31 saves against the Netherlands. A crucial 8* off 4 in a virtual knockout against West Indies. Then a semi-final knock of 43 off 25, followed by a blistering 26* off 8 in the final.
DUCK SHIVAM CLUTCH
32*(21) In IPL 2023 Final
27(16) In the final of WC 2024 T20I
33(22) In the 2025 Asian Cup final
27(17) vs PAK in T20 WC 2026
10(3) vs West Indies in WC QF
43(25) vs. England WC SM
26(8) Vs NZ WC 26 Final #ShivamDube #INDvsNZ
pic.twitter.com/1MluDCf2Vs— Gurtej Singh (@GGurtej) March 8, 2026
These are not innings that dominate highlight reels. They are the ones who quietly win tournaments.
Had Dube not hit those two boundaries against the West Indies or lifted India to a challenging total against England in the semi-final, India might not have won this World Cup.
And yet he is not talked about in the same breath as Ishan, Sanju or Bumrah.
And maybe that’s the beauty.
Men before man. The team before the stars. Collective before individual.
That’s the culture this team thrives on.
RINKU SINGH’S STRUGGLE IN SILENCE
While Dube, Ishan and Abhishek fought their battles in the limelight, it was Rinku Singh who fought quietly in the shadows.
An ailing father admitted to the Greater Noida Hospital could have easily pulled him away from cricket. Rinku could stay by his side. Instead, he chose to stay with the Indian team.
People around the team would notice his unshakable routine.
Rinku will be among the first to arrive at practice, bat in hand, warming up before the main characters leave for their net.
On playing days, Rinku would sprint around the outfield and throw himself onto the field to give the playing eleven a chance to rest and breathe.
Not many people remember those moments on a grand scale, but it mattered to Rinka. Because his father taught him.
“I have never spent so many days without talking to you. I don’t know how life will go on without you, but I know I will need you every step of the way,” he later wrote to Rinku after India’s World Cup victory.
And then there was Sanju Samson.
A dedicated cricketer for most of his career, Samson always played first for the team. This approach resulted in inconsistency that kept him moving in and out of the Indian team for almost a decade.
With a long rope under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir, Samson succeeded. And even in that success he was released.
What must have gone through Samson’s mind after becoming the first player to be bowled over three T20I hundreds in a calendar year?
But Samson didn’t say a word.
While his fan base waged war against the selectors and head coach, Samson kept his head down, carried a drink and waited for his opportunity.
He took out his regret and pain on Sachin Tendulkarwho helped pull him out of a very dark place. Samson waited in the wings and played the perfect team man until his chance finally came. Sanju Samson scored 321 runs from 5 innings (AFP Photo)
And from there there was no looking back.
97* against West Indies.
89 against England.
89 against New Zealand.
Three massive performances in the business end of the T20 World Cup was enough for the ICC to recognize Samson as the best player of the tournament and finally elevate him to the destiny he had been promised for years.
He came years after carrying the burden of being labeled as one of the biggest talents in Indian cricket.
WINNING THE MORTAL MEN WORLD CUP
And that’s perhaps why this World Cup feels a little more relatable to me than others.
There are no giants saving India. There are no demigods taking the team to victory.
They are just mortals like you and me who struggle in our daily lives, who question when doubts creep in, and who keep fighting when the going gets tough.
And that is perhaps the biggest lesson this World Cup holds.
The World Cup of Comebacks won by men like you and me.
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– The end
Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
14 Mar 2026 04:02 IST
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