India will face Zimbabwe in their second Super 8s match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Thursday (February 26). The first-ever T20I match between India and Zimbabwe on Indian soil is scheduled to
take place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Both India and Zimbabwe suffered humiliating defeats in their first Super 8s match of the ongoing shortest format mega-event, and they can’t afford to lose a second match in a row. For the must-win match against the Sikandar Raza-led side, Indian team management is certain to make multiple changes to the playing XI.
Vice-captain Axar Patel, who was left out of the playing XI for the Super 8s match against South Africa at Narendra Modi Stadium, in all likelihood will replace Washington Sundar.
Sundar played two matches for India in Ahmedabad but failed to make any significant contribution with the bat or ball.
He bowled only two overs against the South African team but was not able to take even one wicket, and with the bat, Sundar scored 11 runs from 11 balls as a No. 5 batter.
India’s decision to pick Sundar over Axar against the Proteas invited a lot of criticism for the Indian team management post-76-run defeat on Sunday.
In addition to Sundar, Tilak Varma’s, Abhishek Sharma’s and Rinku Singh’s places are also under the scanner.
There are high chances that at least two of them will be dropped to the bench.
In the five T20 World Cup matches played so far, Tilak has registered scores of 25, 25, 25, 31 and 1 run, but apart from the game against the USA in Mumbai, he has batted with a strike rate of less than 120.
On the other hand, Rinku has scored 6, 1, 11*, 6* and 0 runs in the last five matches. The left-handed batter from Aligarh is playing as a finisher but has failed to deliver in any game. In his place, on Chennai’s wicket, which usually favours spinners, Kuldeep Yadav could get a game.
Kuldeep has played only one match in the ongoing tournament, and in that contest against Pakistan at R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday (February 15), he picked up one wicket for 14 runs in three overs.
In the build-up of the T20 World Cup 2026, Abhishek was India’s best batter, but in the four matches played so far in his first-ever ICC event, the Amritsar-born cricketer has only scored 15 runs. He, in fact, failed to open his account even in the first three matches, and in the game against South Africa, he struggled against the slower balls.
There is a high possibility of Tilak or Abhishek making way for Sanju Samson.
Samson last played a T20I match for India on February 12 against Namibia in Delhi and scored 22 runs from 8 balls.
Samson’s inclusion in the playing XI will give a left-right combo at the top, and if he replaces Tilak in the playing XI, then Ishan Kishan could drop to the No. 3 position.
India’s likely playing XI for the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s match against Zimbabwe: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.
