T20 World Cup 2026 is main target, says Axar Patel ahead of England series

India vice-captain Axar Patel has said that the team is taking the upcoming matches as part of its preparations for next year's T20 World Cup which is the "main target". India will defend its title in the World Cup.

Kolkata [India], : India vice-captain Axar Patel has said that the team is taking the upcoming matches as part of its preparations for next year's T20 World Cup which is the "main target". India will defend its title in the World Cup.

T20 World Cup 2026 is main target, says Axar Patel ahead of England series

India have been in flying colours in the shortest format of cricket and lifted the T20 World Cup in Barbados last year. They will take on England in a five-match series beginning this week.

"World Cup is coming up in a year so how we approach leading up to that, we want to try it from now itself. That's the main target. Momentum is a big thing because if you start well, you can carry it. We finished 2024 well, so we want to carry the momentum into this series too," Axar told reporters, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

In 2024, India featured in 26 T20Is and won a whopping 24 games. But Axar said the Men in Blue won't dwell on the past results.

"We've discussed that the past is past, however, we want to move ahead with the positives we gained from there. We have taken forward the points that brought us success. Transition is also something happening across all formats, but that's a call for the selectors and captain to take," Axar added.

Stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja have retired from the T20I format. Suryakumar Yadav is Rohit's successor in the format.

India will compete in the Champions Trophy next month and the 2026 T20 World Cup will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

The five-match T20I series against England will begin on Wednesday at the iconic Eden Gardens.

India squad for T20I series against England: Suryakumar Yadav , Sanju Samson , Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel , Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel .

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.