India, Dec. 3 -- India's latest T20I squad for the South Africa series may look like just another bilateral group on paper, but the message underneath is bigger. This isn't about Suryakumar Yadav as captain or Shubman Gill as his deputy - that story has already been told. The real clues for the 2026 T20 World Cup are hiding in the structure of the 15.

Look closely at the balance of all-rounders, the shape of the spin attack and the type of batters picked. Put together, they read like an early, honest draft of how India wants to play when the World Cup comes home to India and Sri Lanka in early 2026.

The biggest selection signal is not who's in, but who's missing: Rinku Singh. For the better part of a year, he has been India's designated...