T20 World Cup 2026: India’s forced changes could disrupt momentum, says Zaheer Khan

Former Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan made a significant remark on India’s playing XI ahead of their T20 World Cup 2026 clash against Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on February 12. India made two changes to the side, bringing in Sanju Samson for Abhishek Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah in place of Mohammed Siraj.

Abhishek was ruled out as he continues to recover from a stomach illness. Zaheer observed that such forced changes could be a cause for concern for the Men in Blue, as teams generally prefer to maintain momentum and consistency in their combinations during a major tournament.

"The way India was planning for the World Cup, Siraj was not in the plans anyway. He got to play and performed also, that is a positive thing. Looking at India's campaign, this is the only cause of concern. You need momentum in a World Cup, there is one combination and that can only be strong when there are not many changes. So somewhere, these forced changes could make it slightly difficult to get the rhythm," Zaheer said on Cricbuzz.

Mohit Sharma also emphasised that the Indian team must focus on taking one game at a time. With a high-profile clash against Pakistan coming up next, he stated that the players should not look too far ahead and must concentrate fully on the current encounter against Namibia.

"You can't think about the next game and play the current game that way. Do not think a lot. There is time in between for the next game, so you can prepare then. If you think ahead, I don't think that is the preparation," Mohit said.

Mohit reckoned that the early wake-up call in the tournament was a timely reminder for the team. He added that defending a total of 160 instead of posting a massive 200 helped the bowlers gain confidence and adapt to pressure situations. Against the USA, India found themselves in deep trouble at 77/6, but Suryakumar Yadav led from the front with a crucial knock, guiding the side to a competitive 161/9 by the end of the innings.

"You cannot take anyone lightly in an ICC tournament. So yes, it was necessary (wake-up call for India). We are practising to have a batter at number eight always, and you got that in the first game itself. So from there Surya got into form, that is one thing. The other thing is, bowlers always get 200 to defend. We have forgotten somewhere to defend 140-160. So that happened as well early on," said Mohit.