Michael Vaughan has increased the excitement about the high-voltage semi-final match between India and England in the T20 World Cup 2026. Ahead of the title clash, former England captain Michael Vaughan revealed his combined squad which includes players from both sides.
New Zealand have already qualified for the T20 World Cup 2026 final, and now the winner of the second semi-final between India and England on March 5 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will join them in the summit clash on March 8.
Michael Vaughan chooses joint India-England XI
The surprising thing is that Michael Vaughan has ignored England captain Harry Brook in his dream combined India and England playing XI selected on Stick to Cricket podcast. Cricket pundits have chosen many Indian stars over big English names due to domestic circumstances.
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The first comparison was between Ishan Kishan and Phil Salt. Vaughan leans towards Kishan, favoring the aggressive Indian wicketkeeper-batsman for his fearless style at the top.
When asked to choose the explosive opening battle between Abhishek Sharma and Jos Buttler, Vaughan went with the former England white-ball captain. Buttler’s reputation as a powerful T20 match-winner went against the struggling Abhishek.
Harry Brook ignored as Michael Vaughan supports many Indian stars
The former England captain also favored young Indian batsman Tilak Verma over rising England all-round talent Jacob Bethell. He even chose India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav over England batsman Tom Banton because of his unmatched 360-degree batting in the middle-order.
The biggest moment came when Vaughan had to choose between India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya and England’s aggressive batsman Harry Brook. For T20 cricket, Vaughan clearly preferred Pandya as he has the ability to impact matches with both bat and ball, especially under pressure.
However, when compared to Shivam Dubey and Sam Curran, Vaughan gave the edge to Curran. The English all-rounder’s experience in pressure situations worked in his favor.
Akshar Patel, Adil Rashid and Jasprit Bumrah have got place in Vaughan’s dream eleven.
The round turned interesting when the Englishman had to choose between India’s powerful finisher Rinku Singh and England’s dynamic all-rounder Will Jacks. Vaughan sided with Jack and pointed to his added importance with the ball in big games in this format.
In the spin department, Vaughan preferred India’s reliable all-rounder Axar Patel over England’s fast bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton, especially considering the Indian pitches. For the wrist-spin battle, Vaughan chose experienced England spinner Adil Rashid over India’s Kuldeep Yadav.
Bumra? Jack? Sky?
Vaughan chose his joint team of India and England… pic.twitter.com/3PtzITEAWg
– Stick to Cricket (@StickToCricket) 5 March 2026
But in another spin comparison, the commentator picked India’s unpredictable spin bowler Varun Chakravarthy ahead of England’s Liam Dawson. Ultimately, Vaughan had to take a tough decision when he was asked to choose a blockbuster fast bowler. The English chose Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah in place of England fast bowler Joffra Archer.
Michael Vaughan’s combined India-England XI:
Ishan Kishan, Jos Buttler, Tilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Sam Curran, Will Jack, Axar Patel, Adil Rashid, Varun Chakraborty, Jasprit Bumrah.
Also read: Shivam Dubey is a mixture of ‘Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni’, claims former KKR star
