IND vs USA T20 World Cup 2026: India's star spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has picked his playing XI for India's tournament opener against the USA, which will be held in Mumbai. It should be noted here that Chahal has dropped Ishan Kishan, who recently returned to the national side in the series against New Zealand.
Chahal backed his ex-RR skipper Sanju Samson to play as an opener along with Abhishek Sharma, even though Samson was seen struggling in the series against New Zealand, where he had scored just 46 runs.
Chahal has also picked Tilak Varma, who is coming back from an injury layoff, to bat at No.3, as this is the spot where he has batted brilliantly.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav will be at the No.4 position, whereas Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Rinku Singh will play as middle-order batters and finishers.
Chahal picked two spinners in the form of Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy, and two fast bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. There was no space left for Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. He has represented India in just 5 T20I matches after the 2025 Asia Cup summit clash.
The host has been put in Group A along with arch-rival Pakistan, the USA, the Netherlands, and Namibia. They will try to become the first team to successfully defend the title and the first team to win the title for the third time.
Chahal’s playing XI:
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
India Squad For ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026:
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.