India's Ishan Kishan, left, and Abhishek Sharma run between the wickets to score during the third T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Guwahati, India, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
In what might turn out to be a regular feature in the upcoming T20 World Cup proper, Ishan Kishan walked out to open with Abhishek Sharma instead of Sanju Samson in the warm-up match vs South Africa on Thursday. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav reveled the change after the toss against the Proteas at the Dy Patil Stadium.
“Going to bat first. I’ve heard there might be dew later on, so we want to challenge our bowlers. Want to test ourselves tonight. Definitely Ishan and Abhishek (to open). When you play the sport, it comes with a lot of responsibility. Pressure is always there. But at the same time, there’s so many people coming out to support you. Gives you an extra advantage. Just want to follow what we’ve been doing in the last one and a half years. Continue those good habits,” Surya said.
Once a promising up-and-comer within India’s ranks, Kishan fell out of favour with the national team rapidly at the end of 2023 in the aftermath of his request for a break due to mental fatigue. He spent two years put from then, following which, his super form in domestic cricket and a slice of luck allowed him to make an unlikely return to the national setup.
Announced as backup wicketkeeper for the T20 World Cup, an injury to Tilak Varma allowed Kishan to make his comeback in the recent series against New Zealand. He took the opportunity with open arms, smashing 215 runs in four matches, including a match-winning hundred, his first in the format, in the last T20I in Trivandrum.
Samson, meanwhile, hasn’t been in the best of forms in the New Zealand series, having played all 5 matches with a high score of just 24 runs. He could just mine 10, 6, 0, 24 and 6 in all the 5 matches which has brought into question his place in the India playing XI come the World Cup.
India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign on February 7 with a match against the USA.
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