Italian cricket board on Saturday have announced their 15-member squad for their maiden ICC Men's T20 World Cup appearance, without opener Emilio Gay.

Gay's absence is unexpected and the opener for Italy was one of the first names on the team sheet. His most notable contribution when he scored a spectacular half century in their landmark win against Scotland remains one of the most pivotal innings, that helped them to qualify for the event in India.

The Azzurri, led by Wayne Madsen, find themselves in a Group C that comprises of two twin World Cup winning sides in West Indies and England along with Bangladesh and Nepal. Italy set to begin their campaign against Bangladesh at the historic Eden Gardens Ground in Kolkata on 9 February. 

Following which, they will then travel to Mumbai to face Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium, before returning to Kolkata which is set to host two more matches for the Italians which include heavyweight encounters against England and West Indies. 

The board had previously communicated that Wayne Madsen would lead the squad into the marquee tournament with Joe Burns, the previous skipper who had led Italy through the qualifiers being absent from the squad.

 Fixtures:

9 February 2026 -  Italy vs Bangladesh, Kolkata, 6:30am CET (11 am IST)

12 February 2026 - Nepal vs Italy, Mumbai, 10:30 am CET (3 pm IST) 

16 February 2026 - England vs Italy, Kolkata, 10:30 am CET (3 pm IST) 

19 February 2026 - West Indies vs Italy, Kolkata, 6:30am CET (11 am IST)

Italy 15-Player Squad for the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup 2026

Wayne Madsen (C), Harry Manenti, Ben Manenti, Marcus Campopiano, Zain Ali, Anthony Mosca, Justin Mosca, Syed Naqvi, JJ Smuts, Grant Stewart, Thomas Draca, Crishan Kalugamage, Ali Hasan, Gian-Piero Meade, Jaspreet Singh