India suffered a major scare as opener Abhishek Sharma was hospitalized in Delhi due to a stomach infection, just days before their much-anticipated clash with Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2026. Abhishek was admitted to a local hospital in Delhi on Monday, February 10 and spent the night there. More details on the opener’s status are awaited as India face Namibia in Delhi on Wednesday before traveling to Colombo to face their arch-rivals on Sunday.
Abhishek was absent from training on Monday and did not take the field during the second innings of India’s opening day win over the USA on 7 February. During a press conference on Monday, Indian assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate expressed confidence that the southpaw will be fit in time for the match against Namibia.
“Abhishek still has a few stomach issues but we hope he will be available for the game in two days,” Doeschate said.
However, according to a report from PTI, it seems that Abhishek will definitely miss the match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday as more medical tests are expected to be conducted in the inaugural tournament.
“Abhishek has been admitted to a private hospital in Delhi due to a stomach infection. Some tests are being done to find out the problem. It is still not clear whether he will be discharged today. But the match against Namibia looks uncertain for now,” a BCCI source told PTI.
WHY IS ABHISHEK KEY FOR IND VS PAK?
Abhishek has been in red-hot form for India in the shortest format of the game since his international debut in 2024. The 25-year-old has scored 1,297 runs in 39 T20Is, with two hundreds and eight fifties to his name, and is currently ranked number one in the T20I rankings.
Abhishek was instrumental in India’s wins over Pakistan during the 2025 Asia Cup as he scored 110 runs at a strike rate of 189.66 in three matches against the arch-rivals. During last year, the southpaw scored 859 runs from 21 matches at an average of 42.95 and a strike rate of 193.46.
He has carried his rich form into 2026, having scored 182 runs in six matches so far at a stunning strike rate of 245.94.
If Abhishek misses the match in Namibia, Sanju Samson is expected to make his way back into the side after being ruled out for the USA match.
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Published on:
February 11, 2026