T20 World Cup 2026: Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson return to Playing XI; Abhishek, Siraj miss out

T20 World Cup 2026: Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson return to Playing XI; Abhishek, Siraj miss out

T20 World Cup 2026: Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson return to Playing XI; Abhishek, Siraj miss out Photograph: (AFP)

Story highlights

Playing at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, the changes were confirmed by Indian captain Suruyakumar Yadav at the toss, where Namibia decided to bowl first, winning the flip of the coin. 

India made two key changes to their Playing XI for the Namibia match in the T20 World Cup as Jasprit Bumrah and Sanju Samson returned. Playing at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, the changes were confirmed by Indian captain Suruyakumar Yadav at the toss, where Namibia decided to bowl first, winning the flip of the coin. On the other hand, Mohammed Siraj missed out while Abhishek Sharma was yet to recover from his recent health issues.

Samson, Bumrah in; Siraj, Abhishek out

Having struggled with a fever during the opening match against the USA, things did not go well for Abhishek after arriving in Delhi and he was rushed to the hospital. Although he was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, Abhishek was not able to make the match-day squad, with Samson coming in. Samson has been struggling with form in recent times, and the opportunity to play in the Namibia match came as a welcome addition to regain his form.

ALSO READ | From Chris Gayle to Brendon McCullum, 5 batters to score fastest T20 World Cup hundreds

However, Samson failed to make the most of the chance as he was dismissed for 22 off 8. He did score three sixes and a four but was dismissed by Ben Shikongo, having failed to put away a ball in the mid-wicket region. The opportunity means Samson will likely be dropped in favour of Abhishek once he is fit.

ALSO READ | Meet Indians to score most runs in each of last 5 T20 World Cups ft Virat Kohli

Trending Stories

Other change in the Indian team saw Bumrah come into the team while Siraj missed out in a rotational change for Team India.

India Playing XI vs Namibia

India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.

About the Author

Parth Seth is a research fellow at India Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, where he studies the themes of development, foreign policy, and multilateralism, particularly in ...Read More