Abhishek Sharma during practice ahead of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 cricket match between India and South Africa at Narendra Modi Stadium. (PTI) TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: “Matlab Abhishek ki jagah khilau? (Should I play him instead of Abhishek?)”, “Matlab Tilak ki jagah khilau? (You mean instead of Tilak?).”Suryakumar Yadav was shocked and immediately laughed when asked about the possibility of Sanju Samson replacing Abhishek Sharma or Tilak Varma in India’s playing XI for the World Cup T20 Super Eight match against South Africa. Rumors on social media have been working overtime connecting the dots of Samson’s extended net session, but the Indian skipper has ruled out the possibility for the contest in Ahmedabad on February 22.
T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav Press Conference Ahead of India Vs
“We’re doing well in the powerplay. We’re making 50-40 runs. That’s normal cricket. Now we’ve been playing so well in the bilateral. It happens – we have expectations, we have expectations of ourselves. Expectations to make 220, 240, 250. But the wickets are a bit different here. The four wickets we played on earlier were not a bit different and haven’t been bowled yet. Now we’ve started preparing for it and hopefully we can deal with that when we start our Super Eight journey,” added Surya.India had an extended strike at the Narendra Modi Stadium on February 20 and Sanju’s extended grind was no anomaly. Each player in the team trained for over four hours. Sanju also followed a routine that included changing nets, changing partners, and using the training area near the main enclosure for skill-based work.
Abhishek Sharma (AP Photo)
Few raised eyebrows when Abhishek batted for only about 20 minutes, but the management is not panicking that the aggressive opener’s form or his tournament tally remained at zero after three innings.“About Abhishek’s form, I’m worried about people who are worried about Abhishek’s form, I’m worried about them. Why are they so worried about Abhishek’s form? But I’m thinking about the teams who will play against him. That he hasn’t scored yet. You know the rest of the answers. When he scores, you’ve seen what happens. “It happens, it’s a team sport, it goes on. Now the team has a requirement that the guy plays with his identity. So he tries to play. If it happens, then it’s fine, if not, then we’re there to cover. Last year he covered us, now we’ll cover him,” Surya said when asked about the concerns surrounding the left-hander.
Suryakumar Yadav (ANI Photo)
Apart from the poor starts, the opposition managed to drain the momentum from the Indian innings right in the middle over period. The duo of Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav operated with a very cautious undertone. Much of the criticism has been directed at Tilak along the way with even calls for his removal from the Playing XI. As was the case with Abhishek, the think tank will follow the same patient path and Surya claimed that the Indian No.3 is batting according to plan. The 23-year-old has amassed 106 runs in four outings, but runs aren’t the problem; it’s an average strike rate of 120.45 that has put him in the firing line.“He’s been told by the team management that he has to bat that way. If he’s one wicket down, then sure, he can go and play his own game in the power bowl. But once two wickets go down, then he’s got to back off a bit, get the partnership back, get to the 10th over and then we’ve got enough firepower to go on and bowl.“I’m sure he must not be happy with the way he’s batting right now. He must be and he’s also practiced a lot in the last 2-3 sessions. But I have no worries about him. He’s done really well for India at No. 3 and I’m sure he’ll do better,” explained Surya, throwing his weight behind the youngster.
Tilak Varma (ANI)
Flexibility and intent remained the watchwords as India began the new T20I cycle under head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Surya. As they approached the tournament, the non-opener flexibility saw the addition of No. 3 and No. 4 to the list as Tilak and Surya were frozen for those positions. While the bilateral rounds have been successful, the sticky and sticky surfaces in the T20 World Cup have begged a pertinent question – does India need to re-examine the entry points for their lower order, which has the likes of Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh? Surya seems open to the idea and indicated that he will promote either Dube or Pandya if the team deems it necessary. The deciding factors for this challenge will be the start of the editorials and the matches.“Apart from the openers, I think from 3 to 7 or 3 to 8 everyone has to be very flexible and that’s been the message in the group that if there’s no wicket down in 8 or 9 overs, there might be a point where you could see Shivam Dubey come in or even Hardik come in if there’s the right thing to say. So everyone has to be very flexible, I even think it’s the same.” situation, we will definitely have it and take the call,” said Surya.Under the unforgiving sun, Surya spent considerable time with Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh during the team’s optional training session. After the lefties finished their hit, the three had a long chat under the umbrella. Regular cheers broke out during the discussion as teammates aggressively cheered every big hit by Kuldeep Yadav. For the rest, it was time to put their feet up before the business end of the tournament began.
