Suryakumar Yadav-led India will take on minnows United States of America (USA) to open their defence of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium when the global championship gets underway on February 7.
The opening day fixtures will begin with Pakistan locking horns with the Netherlands in Colombo while the second game will be between two-time T20 World Champions West Indies and Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
India’s opponents in Group A are arch-rivals Pakistan, USA, Netherlands and Namibia.
The defending world champions will play their second match of the group stage against Namibia in Delhi on February 12. Thereafter, the two-time winners will play their biggest and most anticipated game against old foes Pakistan on February 15th in Colombo.
India’s last group match will be against the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 18.
Skipper Suryakumar was gung-ho going into the home World Cup after the high of the victory in the 2024 edition in Barbados.
“Everyone is really excited. I have told the team that it will be a totally different kind of emotion playing for India at the World Cup in India,” he added.
When asked by the anchor Jatin Sapru about a hypothetical scenario about who would be his preferred opponent if India qualify for the final, SKY had an interesting answer.
“I would like to beat Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in the final,” he revealed.
India’s Women’s ODI World Cup winning captain Harmanpreet Kaur also gave the same answer to the question.
India’s 2024 T20 World Cup winning captain Rohit Sharma, who was appointed as brand ambassador for the forthcoming edition of the T20 WC, was diplomatic and refused to name a team he would like to beat in the final stating the opponent was immaterial.
Elaborating on his appointment as ICC’s brand ambassador the upcoming T20 World Cup, Rohit felt it was a big honour bestowed upon him.
“It’s a huge honour to be brand ambassador for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 while I’m still actively playing cricket. I’ve been fortunate to win two ICC events at the end of my career. I won one at the beginning of my career. Now, to watch the T20 World Cups sitting at home is a different experience but I’m enjoying the experience,” he added.
Rohit also stated India should avoid taking any teams lightly at any stage in the tournament.
“Our group has competitive teams and at this level, there are no walkthroughs. We shouldn’t be taking anyone lightly and go out there and play our natural game,” he added.
With 20 teams in the tenth edition of the T20 World Cup, the highlight will be the presence of debutants Italy, who have made it to the WC progressing through the Europe Qualifiers.
The mega tournament to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka will be played at five venues across India including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad.
Sri Lanka will have three venues in two cities with matches in Colombo to be played at R Premadasa Stadium and Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) while the third venue will be in the city of Kandy.
