Parthiv Patel predicts India's playing 11 for T20 World Cup 2026, snubs Harshit Rana

India are all set to defend the T20 World Cup title in the 10th edition of the global event, starting on February 7. The 20-team tournament will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The Men in Blue are placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, the Netherlands, the USA, and Namibia.

India's campaign gets underway on Saturday, February 7, as they lock horns with the USA at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

During a discussion on the Star Sports show, 'Follow the Blues,' Parthiv Patel was asked to pick India's probable playing XI for the marquee event. The former India wicketkeeper-batter chose Ishan Kishan over Sanju Samson and kept Tilak Varma at No. 3 while picking the batting lineup.

"My playing XI for the first game will be Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma at No. 3 and No. 4, then Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh and Axar Patel," the former India wicketkeeper-batter responded.

In the bowling department, Patel believes that Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh will start as specialist pacers in India's playing XI, while Harshit Rana will have to wait for his chance. The cricketer-turned-expert picked Varun Chakaravarthy as the lone frontline spinner in the side.

"Then Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy. That will be my playing XI. I would like to include both Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah," he added.

Parthiv Patel explains his decision to choose Kishan over Samson

Ishan Kishan made a comeback to India's T20I side for the first time in two years during the five-match series against New Zealand. He made his comeback memorable by amassing 215 runs in four innings, including a fantastic ton in the fifth T20I. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson failed to impress, as he aggregated just 46 runs in five innings at an average of 9.20.

Patel said that Kishan has been keeping well and will get another opportunity during the warm-up game. The former asserted that in-form players should get chances when the World Cup begins.

"I feel Ishan Kishan is keeping quite well too. He kept in the previous match as well, and will also keep in the warm-up match. You want your in-form player in the team when the World Cup starts. In my opinion, when the team selection happens, India will have to include Ishan Kishan," he replied.

Patel was also asked whether Tilak Varma will directly make it into the playing XI after recovering from injury. The Gujarat Titans' assistant coach said that Tilak should get into the side as soon as he gets fit because he performed superbly for the Indian team before his injury.

"I feel Tilak Varma will get a place in the Indian team's playing XI as soon as he gets fit because of how he has performed, the way he has batted for India in different, different positions in the T20 format for the last one to one-and-a-half years. Along with that, he will obviously play the warm-up game and is coming after playing quite a few matches in the COE," Parthiv responded.