India will face New Zealand in the final of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The summit clash of the ongoing edition of the men’s shortest-format mega-event is scheduled to take place at Narendra Modi Stadium
in Ahmedabad on Sunday (March 8). For the winner-take-all contest at the world’s largest cricket stadium, Indian team management could consider making one change to their playing XI.
World No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma, who has only managed to score 89 runs in seven matches of the T20 World Cup 2026, could be dropped to the bench, and in his place Rinku Singh, Kuldeep Yadav or Washington Sundar are likely to get a chance.
Abhishek has struggled to perform in the ongoing tournament, and India can’t afford to play an out-of-form player in the biggest match of the tournament. If Abhishek, who was only able to score 9 runs from 7 balls for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side in the semifinal match against England, is left out of the playing XI, then Ishan Kishan will open the innings.
Ishan has slammed two half-centuries for India in the ongoing tournament as an opening batter.
As Abhishek’s replacement, India could consider Kuldeep, Rinku or Sundar depending on the nature of the wicket for the final.
There are more chances of Kuldeep’s inclusion in the playing XI because of his skills as a bowler.
In the semifinal against England in Mumbai on Thursday, India missed the presence of a specialist sixth bowler, and that’s where Kuldeep can come into play for India. He has 95 wickets to his credit in 54 T20I matches played so far, and at a time when Varun Chakaravarthy is leaking too many runs (64 vs England in the semifinal), Kuldeep could prove to be a good wicket-taking option for the hosts.
He has already proved his worth in big matches and tournaments for India, which also includes the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy against New Zealand. In the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy, Kuldeep picked up two wickets to set the tone for the Men in Blue.
In the ongoing T20 World Cup, Kuldeep has only managed to play one match against Pakistan, and in that fixture he picked up one wicket for 14 runs in his quota of three overs.
Sundar and Rinku are other options as Abhishek’s replacement, but since none of them bat in the top order and are not better bowlers in T20Is than Kuldeep, there is not much chance of them getting a nod.
World No. 1 T20I bowler Varun and Arshdeep’s recent form is also a concern for India, but it is highly unlikely that they will be dropped to the bench for the final.
India’s likely playing XI for T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand: Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy
