Italy has named a 15-man squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, marking the country’s first appearance at a senior men’s World Cup. This tournament will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
Wayne Madsen has been named the captain of the team which has a mix of experienced campaigners and familiar faces.
Former South Africa international JJ Smuts has been added to the squad along with two brothers Harry and Benjamin Manenti and Anthony and Justin Mosca.
Former Australian international Joe Burns led the way during Italy’s qualifying campaign, but he was sacked as captain and dropped from the squad late last year.
Italy qualified for the Europe regional qualifiers in July 2025 by finishing second behind the Netherlands.
The coaching staff consists of head coach John Davison, assistant coaches Kevin O’Brien and Dougie Brown.
Italy have been placed in Group C along with Bangladesh, England, Nepal and the West Indies.
They will begin their campaign against Bangladesh in Kolkata on February 9 before taking on Nepal in Mumbai on February 12. Italy then return to Kolkata to face England on February 16 and the West Indies on February 19.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 will be held from February 7 to March 8 and the first round will see 20 teams divided into four groups of five.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super Eight stage, followed by the semi-finals and final.
Italy Squad for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026:
Zain Ali, Marcus Campopiano (wk), Ali Hasan, Crishan Kalugamage, Wayne Madsen (c), Harry Manenti, Gian Piero Meade, Anthony Mosca, Justin Mosca, Syed Naqvi, Benjamin Manenti, Jaspreet Singh, JJ Smuts, Drant Stewart and Thomas.