Tilak Verma has disappointed with his batting so far in the T20 World Cup 2026. His biggest innings so far has been 31 runs, which was against Netherlands. In the Super-8 against South Africa, he got out after playing a bad shot, after which he is being criticized a lot. Now former Indian cricketer Krishnammachari Srikkanth has criticized him and has also raised questions on his being in the playing 11.

Tilak Verma was injured before the T20 World Cup 2026, he underwent surgery and made a comeback. Tilak was in good form before the injury, he played an important role in India’s victory in the Asia Cup. But his bat is silent in the ongoing edition of T20 World Cup. He has scored 107 runs in 5 matches, his strike rate is 118.88. Everyone is criticizing Tilak after he got out after playing an irresponsible shot against South Africa. He went forward to hit the shot, on which the ball touched the bat and went into the hands of the wicketkeeper. After this, former player Krishnammachari Srikanth also gave a sharp reaction against him.

Questions raised on Tilak Verma being in playing 11

Krishnammachari Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel, ‘If Sanju Samson comes in the playing 11, there is no place for Tilak Verma. People are also raising questions regarding the return of Tilak. There is also a possibility that after the way he played the shot today, he may be dropped from the playing 11. This shot was quite ridiculous. After such a shot, he did not deserve to be at the crease.

India’s semi-final path difficult

India’s batting looked weak even in the group stage, but in the important match against South Africa, the team collapsed. Chasing the target of 188, the Indian team was reduced to 111 runs. After this big defeat by 76 runs, Team India’s path to reach the semi-finals has become difficult.

Now India has to win its next two matches. Even after this, South Africa should defeat West Indies. With this, West Indies will remain at 2 points and India will have 4 points. If West Indies defeats South Africa then it will be very difficult for India to reach the semi-finals.

When is India’s next match?

India’s next match in the Super-8 of T20 World Cup 2026 is with Zimbabwe on Thursday, 26 February. This match will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai from 7 pm.

The path for the Indian cricket team to reach the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup has become difficult, because now even after winning both its matches, it will have to depend on the results of other matches. Of course, Suryakumar Yadav and team won all the matches in the group stage, but as an opening partnership, the team has proved to be the worst. They are worse than Oman, Namibia and Canada, whose journey ended without any win. Leaving aside the first match of Super-8, Ishan Kishan still batted well, but the opening pair disappointed.

The average of the opening pair will surprise you

Team India’s opening pair in the T20 World Cup 2026 has an average of only 6.80. Abhishek Sharma could not even open his account against USA, Pakistan and Netherlands. In the first match held in Mumbai, India’s first wicket fell on the score of 8. After this the first wicket in Delhi fell at the score of 25. The first wicket against Pakistan fell at 1 and then in the fourth match the first wicket fell at zero.

In the first match of Super-8, India’s first wicket fell at zero against South Africa. That means, in 5 matches, India’s opening pair together have made a partnership of 34 runs. If we talk about the average of Oman’s opening pair, it was 10. UAE’s opening pair scored runs at an average of 15.50 and Ireland’s opening pair scored runs at an average of 14.33. So far the best average is that of New Zealand’s opening pair (84).

Indian opener was out on zero 4 times

In 4 out of 5 matches, India’s opener was ‘ducked’ out, that is, could not even open the account. Abhishek Sharma was out for zero against USA, Pakistan and Netherlands, Ishan Kishan could not open his account against South Africa in Super-8. In every match held so far, India’s opening pair has not been able to last till the third over.

Apart from the opening pair, Tilak Verma’s poor form has also remained a problem, in 5 matches he has been able to score only 107 runs at an average of 21. Even against South Africa, he got out while playing irresponsible shots. At the same time, questions are being raised on leaving out Akshar Patel and playing Washington Sundar.

Abhishek Sharma’s account has not been opened even after playing 3 matches in T20 World Cup 2026. After getting a golden duck against USA, he could not play in the match against Namibia because he was unwell. After this, against Pakistan and on Wednesday against Netherlands, he was out for zero in the very first over. A shameful record has been registered in the name of world number-1 T20 batsman Abhishek, who was out on zero for 3 consecutive times.

When Abhishek Sharma came with the team for the national anthem before the start of the match against Netherlands, he was wearing Arshdeep Singh’s jersey. Everyone’s attention went to him, then he changed this jersey and wore the jersey with the name of Mohammad Siraj. Then the fans thought that Abhishek was doing this after getting out for zero in the last two matches? However, changing this jersey also did not work.

Abhishek was out on zero for the third consecutive time. Netherlands spinner Aryan Dutt bowled him in the very first over. Abhishek wanted to hit a big shot, but could not judge the ball.

Unwanted record registered in the name of Abhishek

World number-1 T20 batsman Abhishek Sharma has become the Indian batsman to be out on zero the most number of times in the T20 World Cup. He is now on top with Ashish Nehra. Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi and Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan are on top in the overall list, both have been out for duck 5-5 times.

However, the Indian team has qualified for the Super-8 by winning all four matches of the group stage. It is expected that Abhishek will return to his old form in the Super-8 matches. India’s next match is with South Africa on 22 February. Before the match against Netherlands, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, while talking on Sports Today, gave an advice to Abhishek. He said that Abhishek should think about taking one run first. After that he can bat in his own style.

Indian batsmen continue to dominate T20 International cricket. Most of the top-10 T20 batsmen are Indian players. Abhishek Sharma is the world number-1 T20 batsman. Ishan Kishan has also now joined the top-10, having scored 2 consecutive half-centuries in the T20 World Cup 2026. Know who holds which position.

Abhishek Sharma (1)

Abhishek Sharma is the world number-1 T20 batsman. He is at the first place in the T20 batting rankings with 891 rating, although he could not score a single run in the first 2 matches of the T20 World Cup. Abhishek was the victim of a ‘golden duck’ against USA. Ishaan, who was out against Namibia, made a comeback in the match against Pakistan, but could not open his account in that match too.

Tilak Verma (4)

Tilak Verma is at fourth place in the ICC T20 batting rankings. In the latest update, he has gained one place, earlier he was at fifth position. Tilak has 751 rating points. Tilak has scored 75 runs in the first 3 matches of the T20 World Cup. He scored 25 runs in every match.

Suryakumar Yadav (6)

In the T20 World Cup 2026, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav is also included in the top-10 of the ICC T20 batting rankings. He scored unbeaten 84 runs against USA, Surya scored 12 runs against Namibia and 32 runs against Pakistan. Surya is at sixth place in the ranking with 747 rating.

Ishan Kishan (8)

India’s Ishan Kishan has made a big gain in the latest ICC rankings, he jumped 17 places and made it to the top-10. In the ICC T20 batting rankings, Ishaan has come at number 8 with 732 rating points. Before the series against New Zealand, Ishaan was not even in the top-50.

Ishan Kishan had played a brilliant inning of 77 runs in 40 balls against Pakistan, before this he had also scored a half-century (61) against Namibia in Delhi. However, against USA he was able to score only 20 runs.

In the tenth edition of the T20 World Cup (T20 World Cup 2026), the Indian team started with a spectacular victory. Despite the poor start, India reached the score of 161 due to the captaincy innings of Suryakumar Yadav. Chasing the target, USA could score only 132 runs in 20 overs. This victory of 29 runs was historic, because India has now become the country that has won the most consecutive matches in the history of T20 World Cup. Earlier South Africa and Australia were jointly on top.

In the first match of the ongoing edition of T20 World Cup, India had to bat first after losing the toss. When India’s 6 wickets fell at 77 runs, Suryakumar Yadav scored 84 runs in 49 balls with the help of 4 sixes and 10 fours, he remained unbeaten. In reply, USA could score only 132 runs.

Team India created history

India has now become the country to win the most consecutive matches in the history of T20 World Cup. This was Team India’s ninth consecutive victory. India was out of the 2022 T20 World Cup after losing to England in the semi-finals. After this, in 2024, Team India won all the matches, and by defeating South Africa in the final, the team also became champion for the second time.

Earlier, the record of winning most consecutive matches was in the name of Australia and South Africa, both of them had won 8-8 consecutive matches. Now India has come on top with 9, it is very difficult for any team to break this record.

When and with whom is India’s next match?

Indian cricket team will now go from Mumbai to Delhi. India’s next match is with Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. This match will be played on Thursday, February 12 from 7 pm. After this, the team’s next match is with Pakistan in Colombo, for which Suryakumar has confirmed that the team will go. Actually Pakistan is talking about boycotting this match, but Surya said that there is ICC schedule so his team will go.

In the press conference of the captains held for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Suryakumar Yadav was asked about the match (IND vs PAK) to be held on February 15, which Pakistan has decided to boycott. After Bangladesh was expelled from the tournament by the ICC, the Pakistan government had announced that their team would participate in the tournament but would not play matches with India.

The 10th edition of the T20 World Cup is starting from February 7, in which a total of 20 teams have been placed in 4 groups of 5 each. In the group stage, each team will play one match each against every team in its group. India and Pakistan are in Group A, the match between the two is scheduled on 15 February at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

What did Suryakumar Yadav say on IND vs PAK match?

The suspense regarding the India vs Pakistan match remains intact because the PCB has not yet said anything in writing to the ICC regarding the boycott. It is believed that Pakistan may take a U-turn at the last moment. But Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav has made his stand clear. In the press conference of all the captains held before the World Cup, he said that his team will go to Sri Lanka, we are ready to play because this is the ICC schedule.

Suryakumar Yadav said, “Our view is clear. We have not refused to play the match, they have. Our flight has been booked. This is the ICC schedule, so we are ready to go to Colombo and play the match. First we will play the match with America, then with Canada and then go to Sri Lanka.”

Suryakumar Yadav has made it clear that his team will not break any ICC rule. Team India will go to Sri Lanka for the match against Pakistan as per the fixed schedule, whether the Pakistani team comes or not. Because only when Team India reaches the ground for the match, they will get full 2 ​​points. If India also does not reach the stadium then they will also not get points.

The Indian cricket team can create history in the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, because till date no host country has been able to win this title. Now 2 days are left for the start of the 10th edition, the Indian cricket team is now ready to play in the main tournament after defeating South Africa in the warm-up match. Before this, the team’s head coach Gautam Gambhir reached Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai, had darshan of Bappa and prayed for India’s success.

Gautam Gambhir reached Bappa’s darshan

Gautam Gambhir was appointed the head coach of the Indian national team in 2024, after which India won the Champions Trophy (2025) title under his coaching. India also became champion in the Asia Cup held last year, apart from this India performed brilliantly in T20. Gambhir reached Siddhivinayak temple on Thursday afternoon. He wished Team India to be successful.

VIDEO | Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir visits Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple.

(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/v9qRVms7fc

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 5, 2026

Under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav, defending champion Team India is a strong contender to win the title this year. If this happens, India will become the first country to win two consecutive T20 World Cups. Till date, even the host country has never won the T20 World Cup, so India has a chance to break this record.

Washington Sundar is included in the T20 World Cup squad, but he was injured. Till now, no latest information has been revealed about his injury whether he will play or someone else will be included in his place. Let us tell you that the deadline (January 31) for ICC to make changes in its squad has passed.

Indian squad for T20 World Cup 2026

Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dubey, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakraborty, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

Indian team schedule

• 7 February (Saturday), vs USA- Mumbai
• 12 February (Thursday), vs Namibia – Delhi
• 15 February (Sunday), vs Pakistan- Colombo
• 18 February (Wednesday), vs Netherlands – Ahmedabad.

Sanju Samson also disappointed with the bat in the fifth T20 against New Zealand, he was out after scoring only 6 runs. In this way, Samson scored only 46 runs in 5 matches of this series, which is a disappointing performance. He may get punished for this in the T20 World Cup 2026, he may not be seen in India’s playing 11. Indications of this were seen in the fifth T20, Ishan Kishan kept wicket in his place.

Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to bat first against New Zealand, even though there is a lot of dew here. Surya told that he wanted to test his bowlers, hence chose batting. On one hand, Abhishek started batting stormy, but on the other hand Sanju Samson was out after scoring 6 runs. His best score in this series is 24 runs, even in the entire series he did not complete 50 runs.

Ishan Kishan scored a stormy century

Ishan Kishan, who came at number three, scored a stormy century. Now it will be difficult for any captain to keep him out of the playing 11, the team will now play directly in the T20 World Cup. Ishaan scored 103 runs in 43 balls, in this innings he hit 10 sixes and 6 fours. Suryakumar scored 63 runs in 30 balls and Hardik Pandya scored 42 runs in 17 balls, with the help of which India scored a historic score of 271 runs.

Sanju Samson dropped from T20 World Cup?

The captain gave this indication in the fifth T20 against New Zealand, when Ishan Kishan was given the wicketkeeping gloves in place of Sanju Samson. Till now Sanju was keeping wickets, but he could not impress with the bat. It cannot also be said that Sanju did not get enough opportunities, he has flopped 5 times in a row. In such a situation, there is a possibility that we may see Ishan Kishan playing as a wicketkeeper in the T20 World Cup 2026.

The message from Team India is clear! Indian want to go into the T20 WC with Ishan Kishan as the wicket keeper!

Sanju Samson, despite many, many chances, has failed miserably! Even in this series! #IshanKishan pic.twitter.com/UUjgQewcK0

— Prashant Kumar (@scribe_prashant) January 31, 2026

India’s first match in the T20 World Cup 2026 is with USA on 7 February. After this the second match is against Namibia on 12th February. For its third match, India will go to Sri Lanka, where it will face Pakistan on 15 February. The team’s last group stage match is with Netherlands on 18 February.

New Zealand registered its victory in the series by defeating India by 50 runs in the fourth T20 played in Visakhapatnam. This is the second time in this 5-match series that New Zealand scored more than 200. On Wednesday, the opening pair of the visiting team made a great start by making a century partnership. Devon Conway scored 44 and Tim Seifert scored 62 runs. India’s top order completely flopped while chasing the target, but Shivam Dubey fought well but it was not enough. After the match, Mitchell Santner said that in the powerplay we did the same thing that India was doing against us in the last few matches.

After the match, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said, “It feels great to win. We performed the same way in the powerplay as India did against us in the last few matches. Even after scoring well, we knew that these are not safe scores against India. Especially after the last match, when you score 150, players go into their shells but we did not want that. We could not have won any other way. The way our batsmen did in the powerplay. We attacked the Indian bowlers, it was amazing and that’s how we reached a big score. We lost wickets in the middle but Daryl Mitchell and Jacob finished well in the end.”

Santner further said, “How much score can we score against India? This is what we were thinking. I had said in the beginning itself that there can be no better preparation for the T20 World Cup 2026 than playing against India in India. Some of our players are coming back in the next match, but our focus is on making the right plan.”

The last T20 is on Saturday

India is maintaining an unassailable lead of 3-1 in the 5-match series. The last match of the series will be played on Saturday, January 31 in Thiruvananthapuram. After this, T20 World Cup 2026 will start from 7th February. Team India will play a warm-up match with South Africa on 4 February.

On Saturday, 24 December, ICC confirmed Bangladesh’s exit from T20 World Cup 2026. Scotland will play in the World Cup in place of Bangladesh. The cricket world may not have been able to recover from this huge decision, then the news has come that Pakistan may also be out of T20 World Cup 2026. A media report has revealed that Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is just waiting for the green signal from Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

According to a media report, Mohsin Naqvi has said that he is waiting for instructions from the Prime Minister of Pakistan whether to play T20 World Cup 2026 or not. He has even said that ICC should be prepared for another replacement.

A video is also going viral on social media, in which Mohsin Naqvi is seen saying that ICC has done wrong to Bangladesh and he is completely standing with Bangladesh. ABP Live does not confirm what is said in the video going viral.

Let us tell you that ICC Chairman Jay Shah was present at the ICC headquarters in Dubai, when the decision was taken on the teams participating in the T20 World Cup 2026. Bangladesh was adamant that it would not play its World Cup matches in India due to security reasons.

Voting was done in the recent ICC board meeting, where 14 out of 16 board of directors voted in favor of India hosting. Pakistan was the only one which voted for Bangladesh in the venue change matter. This dispute has now been resolved, after which Scotland has replaced Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup 2026.

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Will Team India tour Pakistan? BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla gave this reply; Every Indian’s chest will swell with pride