The International Cricket Council (ICC) structured the T20 World Cup 2026 in a manner to eliminate unpredictability. To win three consecutive knockout matches in a fickle format like 20-20 isn’t exactly a piece of cake. It would mean that a team, worthy or not, could just get on a run in the last part and lift the trophy.
That’s why a 5-team group stage and Super 8 were put into effect. Yet, here we are two weeks later with a virtual quarterfinal. The India vs West Indies match on March 1 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata will decide who’ll be the second semifinalist from Group 1 of the Super 8.
Following the West Indies’ defeat to South Africa and India’s victory over Zimbabwe, the equations are simple: win the match and reach the final four. But that further adds to the pressure. The defending champions have had one bad game and found themselves in a tough spot.
Rinku Singh to miss out
After the defeat to the Proteas, India captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir went back to the drawing board. Against Zimbabwe, they shuffled the batting order, dropping their finisher Rinku Singh for opener Sanju Samson. Axar Patel, their main spin-bowling all-rounder, also returned.
The move worked as India posted 256 on the board and won by 72 runs. But will India change things up once again? Considering how well the batting worked, with each member of the team scoring over 20 runs and that too at a strike rate of over 150, it looks almost impossible to tweak things.
Samson’s inclusion up top means the opposition can’t target India’s southpaws with off-spin. Moreover, Tilak won’t have any issues against spin since Suryakumar, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, and Hardik Pandya are more than efficient against it. Rinku will have to miss out again.
No bowling changes
As for the bowling, sure, Varun Chakaravarthy didn’t appear at his best, but he still went for just 35 runs. One can’t even imagine replacing either Arshdeep Singh or Jasprit Bumrah unless the surface is turning miles. All signs signal India fielding the same XI, and at this moment, it seems like the right call.
Predicted India Playing XI vs West Indies
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Axar Patel (vc), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Bench: Rinku Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar
Cricket
Predicted India Playing XI vs West Indies: Will Gambhir-Suryakumar make changes for virtual QF?
