'He will be the biggest factor vs England' - Mohammad Kaif’s huge claim ahead of IND vs ENG T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final

Mohammad Kaif believes that Jasprit Bumrah would have to play a significant role if India are to win the semi-final against England on Thursday, March 5, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The veteran speedster has been in fine form in the ongoing T20 World Cup. He has accounted for nine wickets in six matches at an average of 14 and an economy rate of 6.30. Kaif belives that Bumrah's four overs will be key for India as they look to restrict a strong England batting line-up.

“Jasprit Bumrah will be the biggest factor in the semi-final against England. Bumrah’s four overs will be crucial," Kaif said in a video on his YouTube channel.

The former India batter believes that the surface at the Wankhede Stadium will behave differently than Eden Gardens, which hosted India's last game against the West Indies. While dew played a role at Eden Gardens and chasing runs became a bit easier, the same might not happen in the City of Dreams.

“This is a different pitch. The Wankhede pitch has changed a bit. Usually, people believe that if you win the toss at Wankhede, you should bowl first because under lights there is some dew, which makes chasing easier. But this Wankhede pitch is very different from Eden Gardens. At Eden Gardens, we saw that when dew came in, it had a clear impact on the game. Batting became easier later on. But that may not happen at Wankhede. In some of the recent matches we have seen there, even England got stuck while chasing 180 against West Indies," Kaif said.

“Here, the ball is turning. It starts turning from the first over and continues even till the 40th over. It is not like the pitch changes later. The surface remains the same. The dew factor does not play such a big role here that you can assume chasing will be easy and the ball will stop turning. Even while chasing, the ball has turned. So the big question is, if a team wins the toss here, will they prefer to bat first? Because I do not think dew will have that much of an effect. I feel batting on this pitch will not be that easy,” he added.

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The Men in Blue have a promising record in T20Is at the Wankhede Stadium. They have won five games and lost two so far. Meanwhile, England have played six T20Is at the iconic venue, winning three and losing as many.