Will Rinku replace Abhishek in semifinal ? This question comes to every one’s mind. But India has shown excellent with the bat against West Indies which earned them a spot in the semi-finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup. Indian team led by Suryakumar Yadav, is now a couple of wins away to defend the title. But before that they have to cross the big England hurdle in the semi-finals to create history.
As the tournament has moved forward, Harry Brook’s squad has gained considerable momentum, securing narrow wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in all of their Super Eight matches to progress to the semi-finals. India and England will face each other for the third consecutive time inT20 World Cups semi-finals. The last time these two teams met in this competition, Rohit Sharma was captain and India had won that match with big margin to reach the final.
Considering the current situation, India do not appear to be well-rounded, while England seem to be the most polished. Winning their other pool-round matches, including the one against Pakistan, India did not showcase their true potential. In Ahmedabad, a 76-run loss to South Africa bluntly exposed the champions. Contrary to what the critics say, India seem to be mellowing. They’ve cruised their way to two more victories.
India must address the form of big-hitter Abhishek Sharma, who hasn’t fired yet. There remains no solid sixth bowling option with Shivam Dube giving way to a lot of runs, They’re now dropping Dube to a lot of runs, including the wayward runs. They’re now dropping simple catches, which should be a thing of the past.
Such mistakes can be extremely costly and a team can crash out of the tournament. India must be operating under extreme pressure because having to wait up for the semi-final, which will take place on today at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The big concern is Abhishek Sharma:
Abishek is still the number 1 T20I batter in the entire world, but he certainly has not played like one in the current 2026 World Cup. One would expect a player of his caliber to perform better than 80 runs in 6 innings, which is a mediocre average of 13.33. Furthermore, he has received the “golden duck” 3 times which is the ultimate blemish on a batsman’s record. Admittedly, he did score 50 runs against Zimbabwe and one might think the problem is behind him, but his subsequent failure to score against the West Indies (getting out for only 10 runs), has raised similar doubts again. If he continues to perform so poorly in the opening spot, the team management might have no choice but to take the drastic step of benching him.
The team has already adjusted its batting order: Ishan Kishan has been moved to No. 3, Sanju Samson has been brought back to open with Abhishek, and Tilak Varma has been moved down the order. Is Abhishek going to be benched? Is it possible for him to switch places with Ishan?
However, the team management will think again, given what Abhishek has achieved over the past couple of years. It was at the Wankhede in February 2025 where he smashed 135 against England and made the highest score by an Indian batter in men’s T20Is.
Could he produce something similar today?
Is there will be any change today:
India is back to winning games, but they might want to keep their winning combination the same for now. But their bowling line up is surely a thing of concern, as they gave up 176 runs to the Netherlands, 184 to Zimbabwe, and 195 to the West Indies. So, is it time to bring back Kuldeep Yadav? If so, who goes out? Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy (who is the leading wicket taker for India in the tournament) and Arshdeep Singh are in for sure. So who is it? Axar Patel? But if he is out then that weakens the batting.
Probable playing XI for semi-final against England:
Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah.
