India xis

T20 World Cup: India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has picked his playing XI for India's opening match of the T20 World Cup 2026 against the USA, which will be played on Saturday at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, leaving out Ishan Kishan, who was in great form during the recently concluded New Zealand series.

In a video shared by Star Sports on X, Chahal backed his former Rajasthan Royals skipper, Sanju Samson, to open the innings for the team with Abhishek Sharma, despite his recent below par performance, where Samson scored just 46 runs in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.

Chahal has trusted Tilak Varma, who will return from injury to bat at number three, a position where the left-handed batter has achieved major success.