Who will Open for India in Warm Up Match Against South Africa?

The Indian cricket team has started its preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026. The Men in Blue are playing a warm-up game against South Africa in Navi Mumbai on February 4.

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bat first as he wanted to test his team in difficult conditions when there will be dew. As we know, it's a warm-up game, so every batter from the squad can come and play. In addition to that, many fans wondered who would be seen as the opening partner of Abhishek Sharma during the match.

Ishan Kishan Replaces Sanju Samson as India's Opener

Talented opening batter, Sanju Samson, flopped brutally in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against New Zealand. He was even removed from the wicketkeeping role during the fifth match of the series and Ishan Kishan was handed the wicketkeeping responsibilities.

Now, Kishan has also replaced Sanju Samson to join Abhishek Sharma as India opening pair in IND vs SA T20 World Cup warm up match. India opening with Kishan in the warm-up game clearly indicates that they are likely to keep him as a first-choice opener alongside Abhishek for this tournament. Both are among the best T20 batsmen in the world and have the ability to turn things around.

Who will Open for India in T20 World Cup?

Sanju Samson got back to the opening batter role after Shubman Gill’s snub from the team ahead of the IND vs NZ T20I series. The batter, who is also among the best wicketkeepers in India, had a great opportunity to cement his place in the team as an opener by performing well in the five-match series.

However, the series didn’t go as he had expected. He played as an opener in all five matches but failed to perform in a single match. Samson could only score 46 runs in the five matches at an embarrassing average of 9.20. To make it even worse, Ishan Kishan, who is originally an opener, played at No. 3 and scored 215 runs in four matches, the second-highest in the series after skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 242 runs in five matches.

Kishan also smashed a century in the final match, which sealed his place at the top for the upcoming tournament as well. As a result, Kishan and Abhishek are likely to open for the Men in Blue in the upcoming tournament.