India captain Suryakumar Yadav has confirmed that Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan will open in the warm-up clash against South Africa in Navi Mumbai. The move indicates that Sanju Samson will spend the time on the bench during the T20 World Cup 2026.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav has confirmed the opening pair ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. As Sanju Samson is struggling with his form lately, the team management is backing Ishan Kishan to open with Abhishek Sharma against South Africa in the warm-up clash. Notably, Kishan has been in phenomenal form as of late, scoring a century in the fifth T20I against New Zealand in Thiruvananthapuram.
โGoing to bat first. I’ve heard there might be dew later on, so we want to challenge our bowlers. Want to test ourselves tonight. Definitely Ishan and Abhishek (to open). When you play the sport, it comes with a lot of responsibility. Pressure is always there. But at the same time, there’s so many people coming out to support you,โ Suryakumar said after the toss.
Tilak Varma returns
India have opted to bat first in the warm-up clash against South Africa. The big development from the Indian camp is the return of Tilak Varma, who was ruled out of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. He recently featured in India Aโs clash against USA, where the Hyderabad batter seemed to be in a good knock. Against the Proteas, he is interestingly listed at four. Suryakumar, who usually prefers to bat at four, has been promoted in the order.ย
South Africa captain Aiden Markram, in the meantime, noted that he is happy to bowl first and that itโs a nice opportunity for the team to get accustomed to the conditions.ย
โHappy to bowl. Nice opportunity tonight, back in India, get accustomed to conditions here. Pretty certain (about the XI). Conditions will dictate one spot. Pretty clear on how we’d like to start,โ Markram said.
India (Batting XI, Fielding XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav
South Africa (Batting XI, Fielding XI): Aiden Markram(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Jason Smith, David Miller, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada