India Can Be the 1st Team in History to Defend T20 World Cup Title: Irfan Pathan

No team has ever been successful in defending the crown of T20 world champions. Could India script history in 2026?

Irfan Pathan spoke with The Quint on India's 2026 T20 World Cup title hopes.

(Photo: X)

Is the Men’s T20 World Cup the most challenging title to defend in all of cricket?

The 50-over variant has been successfully defended. West Indies achieved the feat in 1979, while Australia went a step further, winning three consecutive titles between 1999 and 2007. In the women’s game, Australia have defended both the 50-over and the T20 World Cups. That same powerhouse also managed to retain the other active ICC multi-nation trophy — the ICC Champions Trophy — in 2009.

In that same year, India could have become the first team to defend the T20 World Cup title, just two years after emerging as the inaugural champions of the competition. What transpired, though, is a chapter that Indian fans would rather not revisit ever, as the team lost all three of their Super 8 matches, finishing plum last in their group. No team has, since, been successful in defending the crown of T20 world champions.

Irfan Pathan, now a JioStar expert, was part of the Indian contingents in both 2007 and 2009, and therefore carries first-hand experience of both glory and disappointment. On JioStar Press Room with 50 days to go for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026, The Quint asked the former all-rounder about the inherent challenges of defending this elusive title.

Pathan explained:

It is very difficult to defend the title. The reason for that is — you are not in the same form as you were in the last T20 World Cup, because two years have passed. You don’t always have that same set-up. If you look at our team, things have changed considerably here as well. Three of our key players stepped down after the 2024 T20 World Cup, so we have been going through a transition period as well.

Irfan Pathan

Looking back on why the 2007 class of conquerors failed to replicate their mastery in 2009, and quite emphatically so, he reflected:

Back in 2007, when we went to South Africa for that T20 World Cup, we did not have the pressure of expectations from fans. A lot of our players were young and unknown commodities. No one was talking about us, India were the dark horses in that tournament. People were talking about the powerhouses, who, at that time, were hosts South Africa, Australia and the West Indies. Our job was simply to win games, and we went about it quietly. But we could not do in 2009, what we did in 2007. Why? Because conditions had changed. We lacked the confidence that we had in 2007.

Irfan Pathan

India Are Fortunate to Have Amazing Depth & Quality, Believes Pathan

Despite the retirement of three cornerstone figures in Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, India are still atop the T20I rankings. The pinnacle of individual charts also belong to Indians, with Abhishek Sharma being the number 1 T20I batter currently, and Varun Chakaravarthy being the apex bowler.

In that context, Pathan believes there is every reason to trust that India can become the first team in history to defend the Men’s T20 World Cup title.

We are really fortunate, that we have such amazing depth and quality in our team that despite all the changes and the transition period, we still can fully expect that we will be the first team to both win a T20 World Cup title at home, and also successfully defend the title.

Irfan Pathan