T20 World Cup: Ishan Kishan-Tilak Varma shine in IND vs SA warm-up match

The Indian cricket team, ahead of their title defence in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, introduced some big changes in their playing combination during their warm-up match against South Africa at the DY Patil Cricket Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.

Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav, after winning the toss and opting to bat first, informed that India will have a new opening batting pair going into the World Cup, with Ishan Kishan joining Abhishek Sharma to start the innings, while Tilak Verma will be seen batting at the No. 3 spot. 

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, who has been rewarded with the opening slot for the Men in Blue in T20Is, made the most of the opportunity presented to him in the warm-up match against South Africa. He scored 53 runs off just 20 balls, with the help of two fours and seven sixes, before getting retired out.

After Ishan Kishan, Tilak Verma, who missed the India vs New Zealand series due to injury, made a strong return to the national side at his preferred position of No. 3. Tilak scored 45 runs off just 19 balls against South Africa before getting cleaned up by Marco Jansen.

Tilak made his on-field return while playing for India A against the USA in a warm-up match on Monday, where he scored 38 runs off 24 balls, with the help of three boundaries and two sixes, confirming his return to full fitness.

Tilak has now taken the field against South Africa again at No. 3, which all but confirms that India will have three left-handers in the top three going into the T20 World Cup, with skipper Surya coming out at the No. 4 spot.

With Ishan securing his place as an opener, it is all but confirmed that Sanju Samson will not be part of India’s playing XI in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026. Samson, who made a name for himself with back-to-back centuries in 2024, has hit a lean patch since 2025. Since last year, he has only 268 runs to his name, with an average of just above 16 and only one fifty.

India already have a stacked middle and lower middle order, and now, with Ishan Kishan—who is also a wicketkeeper—confirming his place in the squad, it is highly unlikely India will opt for two wicketkeepers, meaning Sanju is likely to spend most of his T20 World Cup campaign on the bench.

The Men in Blue, in their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match against South Africa, showcased why they are considered to have one of the most formidable batting line-ups going into the event. Despite the warm-up match allowing teams to play as many batters as they can in their innings, India went ahead with their preferred playing XI and posted a mammoth total of 240 for 6 while batting first.

Openers Ishan Kishan (53 off 20 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (24 off 18 balls) set the stage early before Tilak Verma (45 off 19 balls), Suryakumar Yadav (30 off 16 balls), Axar Patel (35 not out off 23 balls) and Hardik Pandya (30 off 10 balls) all chipped in with handy cameos to help India post a big total.

Rinku Singh (16 off 13 balls) was the only batter who failed to impress, but with so many batters in form, India are unlikely to worry about a one-off outing from the southpaw. For South Africa, Marco Jansen, Kwena Maphaka, Corbin Bosch and Anrich Nortje took one wicket each.