T20 World Cup 2026: 3 Players to watch out for in IND vs USA

India and the USA will open their T20 World Cup 2026 tournament with a Group A match on February 7, Saturday. This match will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Group A also consists of Pakistan, the Netherlands, and Namibia.

This match will be crucial for both the teams, as a good start with a big win will set the momentum for both India and the USA going forward in the tournament. India are the defending champions of the T20 World Cup and had defeated the USA when the two teams met in the 2024 edition of the tournament.

With everyone excited to see what happens when India and the USA clash once more, let’s have a look at the three players to watch out for in the match.

Here are the 3 players to watch out for in IND vs USA in the T20 World Cup 2026:

1. Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma has been the prime reason why the Indian team is seen as such a dominant force in T20 cricket in the past 2-3 years. He was brought in as the enforcer at the top to replace Rohit Sharma and was given freedom to go after the bowlers.

He has been on song since then, scoring 1297 runs in 38 T20Is with a strike rate of 194.74, two centuries and 8 fifties, and a best score of 135. Abhishek gives India a quick start in power plays right from the get-go, and the USA will need to come up with a special plan to contain him by getting him out early.

2. Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan has usurped the opening and wicket-keeping job from Sanju Samson after his return to the Indian team after two years. He smashed two fifties and one century in the recent T20I series against New Zealand and had a solid Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 as well. Kishan is in the same mold as Abhishek Sharma and goes after the bowling from the start.

Kishan has 1011 runs in 36 T20Is with seven fifties and one ton with a strike rate of 137.92. He has turned his game around to remove inhibitions and begun batting freely and is likely to replace Samson in India XI at the top.

3. Saurabh Netravalkar

USA’s ace left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar has his roots in Indian cricket. He played U19 cricket for India and then moved to the USA to pursue further studies and cricket. He has played 41 T20Is for the USA, taking 40 wickets with best bowling figures of 5/12 at an economy of 6.85.

Netravalkar will play at his former home ground of Wankhede Stadium when USA takes on India in their first match of the T20 World Cup 2026. He knows the ground very well, having played his junior and senior cricket here, and might prove to be a trump card for the USA in this game.

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