Kamal Ghorui
India will play South Africa in their only warm-up match before the T20 World Cup 2026 on Wednesday, February 4, in Navi Mumbai.With the tournament set to begin on February 7, the warm-up game offers both teams a final opportunity to assess their combinations and match readiness. India and South Africa will use the fixture to review batting order options, bowling plans and fielding setups ahead of the league stage.For South Africa, this will be their only practice outing before the World Cup begins. The two sides last met in a five-match T20I series in December, which gave South Africa exposure to Indian conditions. The warm-up is expected to provide a clear picture of preparations.
When and where to watch?The match will start at 7:00 PM IST, with the toss scheduled for 6:30 PM IST. The venue is the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.The match will be telecast live in India on the Star Sports Network. Live streaming will be available on the JioHotstar app and website.India’s squad for the warm-up includes Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana and Abhishek Sharma.South Africa will be led by Aiden Markram, with the squad featuring Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Ryan Rickelton and others.Although it is a warm-up fixture, the match will serve as the final competitive test for both teams before the start of the T20 World Cup.
