We are done with the league stages and Super 8s, and it's now time for the business end of T20 World Cup 2026. The semifinalists are locked and defending champions India are two wins away from creating history on multiple counts. No home team has ever won a T20 World Cup and no team has defended its title successfully. Also, India would beat England and West Indies to get to three World Cup titles in T20 cricket.
But wait, all this is too far-fetched for now. There is a huge chance that England could make a mockery of this in Mumbai in the second semifinal, and beat the reigning champions in the knockout fixture. However, India will be buzzing, even without playing their best cricket so far in this campaign.
India are expected to mostly field an unchanged XI for the semifinal but if you were to be extremely critical, there is one selection dilemma that could have crossed their mind. Even if only briefly. Do they persist with Abhishek Sharma or do they bring in Rinku Singh to bolster the finisher role?
Logically, Abhishek needs to play the semifinal and if India progress, play the final too, regardless of how he performs against England at the Wankhede Stadium. After all, he is the no.1 T20I batter and has been historically destructive in the shortest format of the game. In T20 World Cup 2026, though, Abhishek has been a pale shadow of his intimidating self.
The Punjab batter has three ducks and has only crossed fifty once so far. More than the lack of runs, Abhishek has seemingly appeared to be short of confidence. He also put down a few catches in the virtual quarterfinal against West Indies and in such situations, a break isn't a bad thing. But, if India were to drop him, it will be a very sensitive decision and will need to be executed with dignity.
If Rinku comes in, it would mean all the batters moving a spot up and Tilak could get back to his no.3 spot with Suryakumar Yadav at 4. The Wankhede surface from the early looks appears to be a belter and it should be another run fest. That means more reason for giving another chance to Abhishek but in a knockout situation, you cannot fault the Indian camp regardless of whichever decision they take.
