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After Ishan opened the innings and kept wickets as well in India’s warm-up match against South Africa, it has turn out to be quite clear that he will likely be picked over Samson against the USA.
Sanju Samson unlikely to play for India in T20 World Cup 2026 match against USA. (Picture Credit: PTI)
Sanju Samson was India‘s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter within the five-match T20I series against Latest Zealand last month, but he didn’t bat in India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match against South Africa in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday (February 4). In Samson’s place, Ishan Kishan opened the innings and in addition played a knock of 53 runs from just 20 balls. The left-handed batter from Jharkhand slammed 2 fours and seven sixes and batted with a strike rate of 265.00 during his stay on the crease on the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
In the course of the second half of the match, when South Africans got here out to bat within the 241-run chase, Ishan also kept the wickets. With Ishan opening the innings and keeping the wickets as well in India’s only warm-up match ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, it has turn out to be quite clear that he will likely be picked over Samson in India’s playing XI for his or her T20 World Cup 2026 opener against the US of America in Mumbai on February 7.
Samson had five probabilities to cement his place in India’s playing XI for the T20 World Cup 2026 matches last month against Latest Zealand, but he could only manage to register scores of 10, 6, 0, 24, and 6 runs. However, Ishan, who made an India comeback after greater than two years, scored 8, 76, 28, 103, and 53 runs in his last five innings.
He needed just 32 balls to play a knock of 76 runs within the second T20I against the Black Caps, and within the fifth match, he scored a century in only 42 balls. Within the warm-up, he built on his century by playing a knock of 53 runs from 20 balls.
Together with Samson, one other player who didn’t play any part within the India-South Africa warm-up match was Jasprit Bumrah. But Bumrah’s case is entirely different from Samson’s.
The 32-year-old fast bowler is India’s biggest match-winner and is a guaranteed starter. He bagged the Player of the Tournament award within the T20 World Cup 2024 and can lead India’s bowling attack within the upcoming tournament as well.
If the India-South Africa warm-up match was an audition for certain players, then it became quite clear that Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav won’t be a part of India’s playing XI against the US at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
While Harshit bowled just one over against South Africa and conceded 16 runs, Kuldeep returned with figures of 0/25 in two overs.
The positive news for India against South Africa was Tilak Varma’s performance. The 23-year-old cricketer from Hyderabad scored 45 runs from 19 balls as a No. 3 batter after which bowled one over as well along with taking one catch (of Dewald Brevis).
India’s likely playing XI for the T20 World Cup 2026 opener against the USA: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Navi Mumbai, India, India
February 04, 2026, 23:42 IST
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