AB de Villiers picks his semi-finalists; no place for Australia

Former South African cricketer and commentator AB de Villiers has picked India, South Africa, New Zealand, and England to make it to the semi-finals of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, starting on Saturday, February 7, in India and Sri Lanka.

For the unversed, the No.1-ranked ICC T20I team, India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, is entering on the back of a 4-1 T20I series win over New Zealand at home. On the other hand, the Harry Brook-led England recently clean-swept Sri Lanka 3-0 away from home. South Africa, led by Aiden Markram, secured a 2-1 series win over the West Indies at home.

In his prediction, AB decided not to go with Australia despite the side having an exceptional all-round line-up. However, Australia will be without Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith, and Pat Cummins in the showpiece event.

Meanwhile, the former cricketer also cautioned the defending champions, Men In Blue, about having an additional pressure of playing at home from the fans and the public. India will lock horns with the USA in their opening fixture on February 7, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. 

"They (India) already have incredible depth and most players seem to be in form now. It's really looking good for them. But with that comes the added pressure as there's more expectation from the fans and the public. It's adding to that pressure that they'll play at home," AB de Villiers said.

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

South Africa squad: Aiden Markram (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs.

New Zealand squad: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi.

England squad: Harry Brook (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood.

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