&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "IND vs NZ, T20 World Cup final: Underfire Varun, Abhishek retain spot in Playing XI as India go unchanged")
India named an unchanged Playing XI for the final of the T20 World Cup 2026 as they retained faith in Varun Chakaravarthy and Abhishek Sharma despite poor form. Playing at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, showed faith in both Abhishek and Varun, who have endured poor form in the later stages of the tournament. At the time of writing, New Zealand won the toss and opted to bowl first, meaning both teams will retain their semifinal roles if they are to win the World Cup.
India retain faith in struggling duo
Despite issues facing issues with the form, the team management showed faith in Varun and Abhishek. While Abhishek was expected to retain, there were question marks on his stay in the Playing XI with Kuldeep Yadav in the frame. However, Kuldeep had to once again settle for a place on the bench as he played no role in India’s campaign on home soil, with his only opportunity coming in the Pakistan contest in Colombo.
Varun’s poor form
Varun’s return of 186/4 in 16 overs in his last four matches had seen him attract critics and could face the heat in the final. His economy rate has become a huge concern for the team management considering India have looted runs against Zimbabwe and England in their recent encounters. In fact, India narrowly avoided a defeat against England in the semis despite scoring 253 runs.
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New Zealand, on the other hand, made one change as they brought in Jacob Duffy in place of Cole McConchie.
Teams
India(Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah.
New Zealand(Playing XI): Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner(c), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.
