Kamal Ghorui
Sanju Samson was not named in India’s playing XI for their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2026 against the United States of America at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.India captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed at the toss that Ishan Kishan replaced Samson at the top of the order, opening the innings with Abhishek Sharma. Tilak Verma was included in the middle order. USA skipper Monank Patel won the toss and chose to bowl first.India also left out Jasprit Bumrah, who is unwell, with Mohammed Siraj coming into the XI. Washington Sundar did not make the team either.“We have Washi (Washington Sundar) missing out, Sanju (Samson) missing out. Unfortunately, Bumrah is not well so Siraj is playing,” said Suryakumar Yadav at the toss.“We were looking to bat first. Wicket looks good, there is wind around so we don’t expect dew. It’s alive even before the game starts and I am sure it is going to be even better,” he added.Samson had opened the batting in the last five T20I matches during the series against New Zealand but did not score many runs. In India’s only warm-up match before the T20 World Cup, Samson did not bat.Kishan, meanwhile, strengthened his case with recent performances. Batting at No. 3, he scored a half-century and a century in New Zealand series. He also opened the innings in the warm-up game against South Africa, scoring 53 off 20 balls and keeping wickets in that match.Apart from Samson, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar were not included in India’s playing XI for the match.TeamsIndia: Ishan Kishan (w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy.USA: Saiteja Mukkamalla, Andries Gous (wk), Monank Patel (c), Milind Kumar, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Shubham Ranjane, Mohammad Mohsin, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan.
