Cricket doesn’t often look like this. On one side are the defending world champions. On the other side is a team built across continents, time zones and passport stamps. When defending champions India open their World T20 campaign against the United States at the Wankhede on Saturday, February 7, it will be less about where the teams come from and more about how far the game has come.
The India vs USA group stage match will start at 7 PM IST. JioHotstar will offer live streaming while Star Sports will provide telecast of the match in India.
The USA will travel to one of India’s most famous cricket grounds on Saturday with a squad full of journeymen from India, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. This American side tells the story of how cricket travels now. Only four players were born in the United States, all to immigrant families. The rest are first-generation arrivals, including three born in Pakistan, who bring with them skills learned on distant fields before finding a home in American colors.
GREEN CARD vs AADHAAR CARD
With eight members of Team USA having their roots in India, Saturday’s ICC Men’s World T20 match at the Wankhede Stadium was playfully dubbed Green Card versus Aadhaar Card.
A green card, officially known as a permanent resident card, confirms lawful permanent residence in the United States. In contrast, Aadhaar is India’s 12-digit unique identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India, which serves as proof of identity and address throughout the country. USA captain Monank Patel trains in Sri Lanka. (Image: Instagram/Monank Patel)
Captain Maunak Patel, spinner Harmeet Singh, batsman Shubham Ranjane, Jasdeep Singh, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Milind Kumar, Saiteja Mukkamalla and veteran left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar form the backbone of the India-rooted US side.
For Harmeet, Shubham and Netravalkar, this accessory carries a deeper resonance. All three are products of the Mumbai Maidans, where long days under the sun once saw them sharing space with future Indian stars like Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube, pursuing the same ambitions they now meet at the World Cup.
On the eve of the match, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav saw the presence of Indian-origin players in rival teams as a sign of the game’s expanding reach.
“Now they have gone to the land of dollars,” said Suryakumar. “But I’m looking at it positively. It’s good that the players are getting opportunities. Even if they’re representing other countries, it’s still a chance to play international cricket. I’ve played a lot with them. But right now we’re enjoying our own cricket. I’ve played enough in Mumbai to know how it goes. It’s going to be fun. Tomorrow we start the tournament slowly and then we’ll hit the ground running.”
INDIA LAUNCHES BID ON HISTORY
India enter the tournament in a position that few teams can manage in T20 cricket. In a format known for surprises, they learned how to stay in control. Led by Suryakumar Yadav, this side is chasing something no team has managed to do so far: to defend the T20 World Cup title and lift the trophy for the third time.
However, history has a habit of pushing back. Playing the World Cup at home has its weight and even the best teams struggled under it. No side has ever won the T20 World Cup on home soil, so India have another long-standing hurdle to overcome.
What makes this team different is how consistently they have played over the last two years. An 80 percent win tells the story of one side who found a way to make T20 cricket predictable. They took the risk out of a risky format and turned it into something they can repeat over and over again. This is not just a team hoping to compete, but a team aiming to set the pace.
In nine editions, the T20 World Cup has never seen a title defense or a host lift the trophy. On Saturday at a packed Wankhede Stadium, where India once celebrated their 2011 ODI World Cup victory, the hosts begin their campaign with the belief that both records can finally be changed. Suryakumar Yadav coaching the opening race of T20 World Cup 2026. Image: (X/BCCI)
Since winning their second T20 World Cup in June 2024, India have hardly slowed down. They have won 33 of their 41 T20 internationals in that period, including going unbeaten in last year’s Asia Cup. Eight bilateral series wins, split evenly between home and away, shows how well they hold the format when they come up against strong teams like Australia, South Africa home and away, England and New Zealand.
This version of India also took scoring to a new level. They have crossed 200 in an innings 12 times at this stage, while no other team has managed more than seven. Their three highest T20I totals, 297 for 6, 283 for 1 and 271 for 5, all came into this cycle guided by a clear plan to bat a lot, bat fast and not worry about the odd failure.
India have lost just six of their 41 matches in that stretch and only two of those defeats have come at home, both chasing totals above 200. For a team playing such high-stakes cricket, the balance has clearly worked, with far more good days than bad.
USA LOOKS AT ITS BRANDS
The United States head into their second consecutive ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with confidence from a breakthrough domestic campaign in 2024, defined a memorable Super Over win against Pakistan. However, this on-field surge has come during a period of considerable uncertainty, with USA Cricket’s suspension throwing the game’s administration into disarray.
A win over Pakistan looked set to open the door to more regular matches against full member nations. Instead, continued administrative upheavals ensured that momentum stalled and the international calendar remained limited.
On the field, however, progress continued. The men’s team put up a great run in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 and were rewarded with the Associate Team of the Year award at the 2025 ICC AGM, underscoring that their rise has been built on more than one misfortune.
With the increased investment and visibility afforded by Major League Cricket, the sense of novelty surrounding American cricket is steadily fading. In its place is a more settled group of players, many of whom are now familiar faces across the global T20 circuit. After shedding their long-standing designation as the game’s sleeping giants in 2024 by knocking off bigger teams, the United States will arrive at the 2026 World Cup looking to push beyond international cricket and establish themselves as a competitive force.
INDIA VS USA T20IS TICKETS
India and USA have crossed paths only once in T20 Internationals so far. Their lone encounter came on the world stage at the 2024 World T20 Cup in New York, where India’s pedigree and brilliance proved decisive as they secured a convincing victory and took an early lead in the rivalry.
INDIA vs USA: MUMBAI COURSE CONDITIONS
The west coast of India is already registering highs of 35 degrees Celsius and above, but it should turn pleasant in the evening. If the temperature difference between day and night causes dew, it will be even more batting friendly at the usually high-scoring Wankhede Stadium.
Rosa will be something all teams will be keeping an eye on with bigger matches, including one semi-final coming up later in the tournament.
INDIA vs USA: PROJECTED XI
Washington Sundar, who is still recovering from a side strain, did not feature in India’s warm-up game against South Africa, but the team plans to keep him in the squad. Axar Patel, India’s first-choice all-round spinner, remains the backup for now.
The bigger concern was around Harshit Rana who was now replaced by Mohammed Siraj in the Indian team.
On a positive note, Tilak Varma has returned to fitness and is available for selection.
India (Predicted XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy.
Andries Gous, who missed USA’s last T20I in the North America T20 Cup final in April, is expected to return as both wicketkeeper and opener. His inclusion is likely to move the rest of the batting order down one spot to cover the absence of the suspended Aaron Jones.
USA (Predicted XI): Saiteja Mukkamalla, Andries Gous (wk), Shayan Jahangir, Monank Patel (capt.), 5 Milind Kumar, Harmeet Singh, Shubham Ranjane, Mohammad Mohsin, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
February 7, 2026