Ajinkya Rahane selected Team India’s playing XI for T20 World Cup 2026, gave the responsibility of opening to Sanju Samson

By Samira Vishwas On Jan 15, 2026

Sanju Samson given the responsibility of opening: While choosing the playing eleven of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2026, Ajinkya Rahane first included Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson in his team, who are also their opening batsmen. He said, “Abhishek’s form has not been good in some matches, but he is a very confident player. He has shown that when he gets going, he can win the match for the team in this format. My other opener is Sanju Samson. He is in very good form and is playing very good cricket. I have seen him batting in domestic cricket, he is playing with very good intent and is also in a good mindset.”

Suryakumar at number-3: Ajinkya Rahane believes that Captain Suryakumar Yadav should not bat at the number-3 position for India in the T20 World Cup, not Tilak Verma. He said, “I would like to see Suryakumar at number-3. He plays with some time, if he comes to bat at number-3 then he can do so. He has not scored in the last 15-18 innings, but I do not think it will make a difference. He will win the match the day he comes in.”

It is noteworthy that apart from Suryakumar Yadav, to strengthen the batting of the Indian team, Ajinkya Rahane also included batsmen like Tilak Verma and Rinku Singh and all-rounders like Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, and Akshar Patel in the combination.

Kuldeep was not included: Very experienced bowler Kuldeep Yadav has not got a place in Ajinkya Rahane’s Indian playing eleven for the T20 World Cup. For this department, apart from all-rounders, Ajinkya has selected only proper bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakraborty. Know that 31-year-old Kuldeep has taken 76 wickets in 17 Tests, 191 wickets in 117 ODIs, and 90 wickets in 50 T20 matches for India.

Ajinkya Rahane’s Indian playing XI for T20 World Cup 2026: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakraborty.

Complete squad of Indian team for T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakraborty, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper).