Sanju Samson dropped from India’s playing XI vs USA in T20 World Cup 2026 match
Sanju Samson was not included in India’s playing XI against the USA in the opening fixture of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
Ishan Kishan will replace Samson in the opening slot alongside Abhishek Sharma, while Tilak Verma has been included in the middle order.
Samson opened in the last five T20I matches, during the series against New Zealand, but couldn’t score much.
In India’s only warm-up match for the T20 World Cup, Samson didn’t bat and Kishan opened the innings.
Apart from Samson, Jasprit Bumrah (not well), Kuldeep Yadav, and Washington Sundar aren’t playing.
India (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy
Published on Feb 07, 2026
