Despite strong show against New Zealand, Ishan dropped; Sanju to open as Chahal names his favourite XI

The Indian team will kick off their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on February 7, where Suryakumar Yadav and company will face USA at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

Team India Probable Playing 11: The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 is set to commence on February 7, with the Indian team playing its first match on the same day. The first match of the day will be played between the Netherlands and Pakistan at the Singhalese Sports Club. Following this, the West Indies and Scotland teams will face each other at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. India's match will be against the USA, which will be played at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

Ishan Kishan Excluded from Playing XI

Regarding this match, Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has picked his preferred playing eleven, which includes a surprising decision. He has excluded Ishan Kishan from his playing eleven. Ishan Kishan had batted brilliantly in the recently concluded T20 series, making a strong comeback. He scored 215 runs in the series, with an average of over 50. Despite this, if an experienced player like Yuzvendra Chahal has left him out of his preferred playing eleven, there must be a specific reason.

It is worth noting that Kuldeep Yadav has also not found a place in Chahal's playing eleven. He has included Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel in the team. According to Chahal's preferred playing eleven, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson will open the innings. Following them, Tilak Varma will bat at number three, followed by Suryakumar Yadav. After them, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah have been included.

Another decision by Yuzvendra Chahal is also surprising, as Sanju Samson had a dismal performance in the five-match T20 series against New Zealand. Despite batting in five innings, he couldn't even score 50 runs. However, despite this, Chahal has included him as an opener in his playing eleven, where he will start the innings alongside Abhishek Sharma. It remains to be seen how much difference there will be between Suryakumar Yadav's official playing eleven and Yuzvendra Chahal's preferred playing eleven.

Chahal's Favourite 11

Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep, and Jasprit Bumrah.