The Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav descided Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma as his opening batsmen for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match against South Africa.
The statement clearly suggested that the Indian team management had moved on from Sanju Samson. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batter struggled against New Zealand. His performance which resulted in 46 runs across 5 innings failed to meet acceptable standards. His closest competitor achieved a total of 215 runs with a strike rate of 231.18 after playing one less inning than him.
Samson received the full 5-match series to make his case. He had the chance to convince the selectors to back him instead of choosing Kishan.However he failed to meet his objective. Suryakumar also avoided confirming the opening partner for Abhishek when India last faced New Zealand on January 31.
His stay in Navi Mumbai for four days led him to announce that Kishan would become India's second opener during the T20 World Cup. Kishan proved his selection through his performance. The aggressive left-hander smashed a blazing 20-ball fifty against South Africa's attack featuring Kagiso Rabada Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen.
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Kishan displayed total control over the match from its beginning. His first shot against Lungi Ngidi resulted in two sixes during the match's first over. He built up his performance until he reached peak power against Nortje during the fourth over. Kishan scored five boundaries through four sixes and one four. He struck the ball successfully to three different fielding positions, which included covers, fine leg, and long on.
He launched Kwena Maphaka into deep square leg during the final powerplay over, which allowed him to reach his half-century after facing 20 balls. The Indian management used Suryakumar to retire Kishan, who replaced him with Tilak Varma at the batting position.
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
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