With two more matches to be played in the ongoing 5-match T20 series with New Zealand, speculation about the Indian cricket team has intensified, as Team India will be one of the favorites to win the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Ahead of the tournament, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has selected his Team India playing eleven for the ICC elite tournament starting February 7 co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. India will start its campaign as defending champions.
Samson needs to score runs soon to open for India in T20 World Cup 2026
For Kaif, the current opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma will be the best in the T20 World Cup 2026. Apart from this, Kaif also wants to see Samson score runs in the remaining two matches against New Zealand. If Samson’s run drought continues then Kaif would like to see Ishan Kishan opening the innings along with Sharma.
Kaif’s first choice for number three is batsman Tilak Verma, who is currently out of the team due to fitness concerns. The middle-order batsman had to undergo surgery. After which he is busy in achieving match fitness.
The BCCI said Verma is at the Center of Excellence in Bengaluru working on his fitness and is expected to join the main squad ahead of the tournament. The former cricketer also told that Verma will enter the tournament without any prior preparation, which may affect his performance.
Kaif said on his YouTube channel, “If Sanju doesn’t score runs in the next two matches, Ishan will move up and Tilak will come in at number three. He is a proven player and you want to bring him back. But he will come straight into the World Cup without any practice. We will have to see how he will be tested now. Either Sanju or Ishan will play. There is competition there right now. Sanju’s next two innings will decide who will play.”
Competition between Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh
For the bowling unit, he chose Harshit Rana in place of Arshdeep Singh keeping in mind the batting depth. Since Rana can also contribute with his batting, Kaif chose Harshit Rana in place of Singh. For the fast bowling line-up, Kaif chose Hardik Pandya, Rana and Jasprit Bumrah.
He said, “Harshit Rana will play at number eight. It is possible that Arshdeep may miss there. We have seen that when Arshdeep plays, Bumrah does not play. So Arshdeep will sit out. The three fast bowlers will be Hardik, Rana and Bumrah. Rana is ahead in the eleven because he can bat at number eight.”
Shivam Dubey or Rinku Singh?
Kaif was faced with a challenge when he had to choose between Shivam Dubey and Rinku. According to him, Rinku has played very well for the team so far, but since Dubey can both bat and bowl, he chose Dubey instead of Singh.
“Dubey was part of the winning team of 2024. He has been playing since then and is still bowling. If there is a choice between him and Rinku, I think he is ahead. Rinku has played very well. He has done nothing wrong. I am following him. It is a good headache that there are players in the team who will be on the bench who are also match winners.”
Mohammad Kaif’s India XI for T20 World Cup 2026: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakraborty and Kuldeep Yadav.
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