Will Abhishek Sharma play against Pakistan? Here is what we know so far

India’s dashing opening batter Abhishek Sharma, who started the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against the USA with a golden duck, has been suffering from a stomach infection, and he was ruled out of the game against Namibia as he has been recovering from the infection.

While he was hospitalized a few days ago to get his infection treated, he was discharged a day before the game against Namibia, and he was part of the practice session, but failed to make it to the playing XI in the team’s second group stage fixture in Delhi.

"As far as I have spoken to him, he looks good. He did some practice today also. He told me he is on the way," Varun Chakravarthy said after the game against Namibia.

There have been reports of Abhishek losing a bit of weight as well. Moreover, in this case, the opening batter needs some time to recover and regain his strength to play professional cricket. At the toss, India captain Suryakumar Yadav made it clear that the batter might miss a game or two.

"Abhishek isn't fine still, might take one or two games," skipper Suryakumar Yadav said at the toss.

For the unversed, Sanju Samson opened alongside Ishan Kishan in Abhishek's absence against Namibia. The Indian team management is expected to take a final call on his selection on the game day, depending on the time he spends in training and practice sessions.

India squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

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