Veteran Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has been dropped from the national team across formats, has been named as the captain of the star-studded Indian team for the forthcoming Hong Kong Sixes event, commencing on Friday, October 30.
The Indian squad will include IPL stars Krunal Pandya, Shashank Singh, Rahul Tewatia, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi and T. Natarajan. It’s worth noting that barring Shashank and Tewatia, everyone has played for the national team.
The Hong Kong Sixes features a unique format in which only six players take the field for each team. One bowler can bowl two overs, and the remaining six overs are to be bowled by the four remaining players each.
Anuraag Bhatnagar, Director of Marketing and Commercial, Cricket Hong Kong, China, said: “We are very grateful to the Indian cricket authorities for their support in helping us put together arguably one of the strongest sides that has represented India in the history of the Sixes.
“This will surely prove to be a quantum leap forward in terms of viewership and further validation for this iconic tournament.”
Pakistan enters this edition as defending champions, having defeated the debutants Kuwait in last year’s final to claim the title. The forthcoming edition will feature eight major cricketing nations alongside four Associate Members.
India will aim for a better run in this year’s event after their last year’s campaign ended early. They started last year’s tournament with a two-run DLS win against Pakistan but lost their next matches and were knocked out of the campaign.
India’s squad for the Hong Kong Sixes 2026 event:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Captain), Krunal Pandya, Shashank Singh, Rahul Tewatia, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Thangarasu Natarajan
