Samson unlikely to feature in India’s WC opener

• Ishan Kishan likely chosen over Sanju Samson as India's T20 World Cup keeper.
• Kishan scored 53 off 20 balls in warm-up; Samson did not bat.
• Tilak Varma impressed with 45 off 19 balls and bowling.

Sanju Samson was India‘s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand last month, but he didn’t bat in India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match against South

Africa in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday (February 4). In Samson’s place, Ishan Kishan opened the innings and also played a knock of 53 runs from just 20 balls. The left-handed batter from Jharkhand slammed 2 fours and 7 sixes and batted with a strike rate of 265.00 during his stay at the crease at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

During the second half of the match, when South Africans came out to bat in the 241-run chase, Ishan also kept the wickets. With Ishan opening the innings and keeping the wickets as well in India’s only warm-up match ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, it has become quite clear that he will be picked over Samson in India’s playing XI for their T20 World Cup 2026 opener against the United States of America in Mumbai on February 7.

Samson had five chances to cement his place in India’s playing XI for the T20 World Cup 2026 matches last month against New Zealand, but he could only manage to register scores of 10, 6, 0, 24, and 6 runs. On the other hand, Ishan, who made an India comeback after more than two years, scored 8, 76, 28, 103, and 53 runs in his last five innings.

He needed just 32 balls to play a knock of 76 runs in the second T20I against the Black Caps, and in the fifth match, he scored a century in just 42 balls. In the warm-up, he built on his century by playing a knock of 53 runs from 20 balls.

Along with Samson, another player who didn’t play any part in the India-South Africa warm-up match was Jasprit Bumrah. But Bumrah’s case is entirely different from Samson’s.

The 32-year-old fast bowler is India’s biggest match-winner and is a guaranteed starter. He bagged the Player of the Tournament award in the T20 World Cup 2024 and will lead India’s bowling attack in the upcoming tournament as well.

If the India-South Africa warm-up match was an audition for certain players, then it became quite clear that Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav will not be part of India’s playing XI against the United States at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

While Harshit bowled only one over against South Africa and conceded 16 runs, Kuldeep returned with figures of 0/25 in two overs.

The positive news for India against South Africa was Tilak Varma’s performance. The 23-year-old cricketer from Hyderabad scored 45 runs from 19 balls as a No. 3 batter and then bowled one over as well in addition to taking one catch (of Dewald Brevis).

India’s likely playing XI for the T20 World Cup 2026 opener against the USA: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy.