Who will Open for India in T20: Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishan?

The much-anticipated Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday, December 20. The tournament will be played from February 7 to March 8 in India and Sri Lanka. The Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 saw a few surprises as well, and one of the major ones was Shubman Gill getting dropped. Although he was short of runs but not many expected him to get dropped, especially with him being the vice-captain.

But Shubman being short of runs paved the way for Ishan Kishan to make a comeback in the team, thanks to his terrific performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. He has been picked in the side as an opener and the wicket-keeper.

Who will be India T20 Opener in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026?

With Ishan Kishan making a comeback in the Indian team, a common question among fans is Who will be India T20 Opener in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026? With Abhishek Sharma being one of the best T20 batsman in the world, he takes the one spot, and the fight will be between Sanju Samson Opener, and Ishan Kishan Opener.

At the press conference related to the squad, Ajit Agarkar mentioned that they have added Ishan Kishan in the side as a cover to Sanju Samson, as they needed a keeper-batter who could open the innings, which was the reason behind Jitesh Sharma’s snub too. Talking about the India opener, it is now likely that Sanju Samson will take the spot along with Abhishek Sharma. Before Shubman Gill’s comeback, the duo shared a great partnership and scored a plethora of runs, setting the tempo for the team’s big total. In the 5th T20I against South Africa as well, Sanju Samson opened with Abhishek Sharma and did a great job. It’s fair to say that the last match was his audition for the T20 World Cup 2025, and he passed with flying colours.

On the other hand, Ishan Kishan also has a great track record as an opener. He also shares great camaraderie with Abhishek Sharma as they both are part of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and have batted well together. But with the team in favour of giving longevity to players, this means Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma will open the innings in the T20 World Cup 2026. Ishan Kishan will be there as a second choice and will step in only if some injury of something happens to Sanju.

Major Changes in India T20 World Cup 2026 Squad

The India squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 will be captained by Suryakumar Yadav, and Axar Patel will be the vice-captain. India is the defending champion and will open their campaign against the USA on February 7. The team is coming to the World Cup with some major changes, where star batter Shubman Gill is dropped, and even Jitesh Sharma, who did well when given a chance. This allowed Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh to feature in the squad, while other players remained the same in the squad.