India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has virtually confirmed that Ishan Kishan will open with Suryakumar Yadav in India’s T20 World Cup 2026 opener against the United States of America (USA) on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Ishan Kishan to open
Suryakumar, who’s leading Team India in a warm-up match against South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, stated that Kishan would open alongside Abhishek Sharma in the practice game against the Proteas. Kishan will also keep the wickets.
“Going to bat first. I’ve heard there might be dew later on, so we want to challenge our bowlers. Want to test ourselves tonight. Definitely Ishan and Abhishek (to open),” Suryakumar said after winning the toss and opting to bat first.
Sanju Samson dropped
This confirms that Sanju Samson won’t be in India’s starting XI. The keeper batter from Kerala had a woeful time against New Zealand in the recently concluded series, where Kishan had shone. In the last game of that 5-match affair, Kishan had smashed a hundred to cap things off.
That innings proved to be the final nail in the coffin. India had no choice but to pick Kishan over Samson, who had been India’s second opener since the 2024 T20 World Cup. With Tilak Varma expected to return as India’s number three, Kishan will move one spot up, as he batted at the position against the Kiwis.
“When you play the sport, it comes with a lot of responsibility. Pressure is always there. But at the same time, there are so many people coming out to support you. Gives you an extra advantage. Just want to follow what we’ve been doing in the last one and a half years. Continue those good habits,” Suryakumar added.
India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vc), Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav
