New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has picked his playing XI for India’s opening match of the T20 World Cup 2026 against the USA, which will be played on Saturday at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, leaving out Ishan Kishan, who was in great form during the recently concluded New Zealand series.
In a video shared by Star Sports on X, Chahal backed his former Rajasthan Royals skipper, Sanju Samson, to open the innings for the team with Abhishek Sharma, despite his recent below par performance, where Samson scored just 46 runs in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.
Chahal has trusted Tilak Varma, who will return from injury to bat at number three, a position where the left-handed batter has achieved major success.
T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav was slotted to bat at No. 4, while Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh will continue to play the middle order and finisher role for the team.
Chahal went with two spinners in Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy and two specialist seamers in the form of Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. The combination left no room for his partner Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. Kuldeep has played just five T20I matches since the 2025 Asia Cup Final.
Defending champions India have been placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, the USA, the Netherlands and Namibia. The Men in Blue will be aiming to become the first team to successfully defend the Men’s T20 World Cup title, the first team to win the T20 World Cup on home soil, and the first team to clinch the T20 world title for a third time.
Chahal’s playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
–IANS
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