Picture Credit : ICC
The 10th edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 kicks off tomorrow, with six teams in action on the opening day, including defending champions India. During a ‘Media Day’ Ian Bishop addressed the media, looking ahead to the upcoming tournament, the importance of associate nations in ICC events, and the pressure of expectations for India as hosts.
Speaking during a ‘Media Day’ organised by JioStar, ICC expert Ian Bishop iterated the importance of participation of associate nations in ICC World Cups and vice versa:
“There is always a chance that even when full member nations play against each other, and it is a one-sided contest, it has a deleterious effect on one or two people who are watching. But I think we also have to look beyond the viewership metric. World Cups are important. ICC tournaments are important for those associate nations to understand what playing against the full member nations is all about. They don’t get to do it as often outside of World Cups, and I think that’s an area we need to focus on.”
“It’s happening more and more; some full member nations are making the effort to play against the associates. But when you come up against the high-quality bowling of a Jofra Archer or a Kagiso Rabada, and you only do that in a World Cup, it is a shock to the system. What we’ve seen from teams like the Netherlands, Namibia, and occasionally Oman in the T20 World Cup last year, and Scotland a couple of World Cups ago, is that these associate nations are finding ways to gain ground and claw it back. So many associate players are now playing in franchise tournaments and bringing that experience back into their national teams. I don’t think fans will look away. These associate nations, I think, are going to go on to give a good account of themselves.”
On India having to manage the pressure of expectations as a host:
“You go back to 2011, India won an ODI World Cup at home. They got to the final in 2023 against Australia, and Australia were too good on the day. As defending champions, I think a lot of teams are very good now. Management and staff are taking pressure away from the players, and I think India are one of those teams. There will obviously still be high expectations at home, but I don’t think that will be the issue for this Indian team. So many of them have played the IPL, have played in finals, and they know what expectation is.” “Abhishek Sharma is certainly one of those players you look forward to seeing, to see how he matches up against the best in the world. I think he’s going to be very important, as is Suryakumar Yadav, the captain. They’ve got so many guys - Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy. I think the bowling, perhaps, is the area where India will try to separate themselves from the other high power-hitting teams in the world. That’s my view. A lot of teams have power-hitting depth, the West Indies do, South Africa do, and when Australia are fit, they do as well. So I think bowling will be the difference-maker.”
On the bowlers' mindset while bowling to batters like Abhishek Sharma:
“I think it’s understood, whether I agree with it or not, that T20 cricket has brought a lot of batters to a fearless way of hitting rather than bowling. Some would say that’s the game of cricket in general. But bowlers are a resilient species. If there is ever something in the pitch, and I’ve said this during IPL tournaments, whenever something is left in the pitch, you see a different side of bowlers and batters, and the bowlers come to the fore. I suspect in the World Cup, whenever that happens, you’ll see bowlers of all types come to the fore. You have to go into these games now with the mindset that it’s not always easy to go at seven and a half an over and call that a good day.” “ You might have to accept that if Abhishek, or whoever, holds onto you, maybe eight and a half or nine on a given day, you’re going to have to stomach it. But you should never go into a contest thinking that you don’t have one ball that can get a batter out. You always have to have that in the back of your mind, today will be my day. And if it isn’t, so be it. There’s another game coming up.”
On teams which can challenge India for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 title:
“I believe England, if they get both sides of their game together, could be a threat because they have a style that suits T20 cricket and the personnel to execute it. I believe South Africa, who were finalists in the last World Cup, are also trending nicely from their point of view. New Zealand have been in the subcontinent for a while now, don’t underestimate them or write them off. West Indies have the power hitting and the depth, even if they don’t quite have the bowling. So I think there are four or five nations that can challenge India because they have similar batting depth. The question will be whether they have the variety of bowling that India can produce.”
On Ishan Kishan pushing his case for selection and worries in the bowling department for India, if any:
“Ishan Kishan is giving them a good headache, and those are the headaches that coaches want. They prefer having to take tough decisions because of good form rather than taking tough decisions because of poor form. If Ishan is playing that well, you have to make room for him. T20 is a format where you have to go with players in form. Who sits out? I couldn’t possibly answer that. From a bowling perspective, I would still back India’s know-how in their own conditions.” “The ability of players to stand up, I rate Kuldeep highly. Yes, he’s had a bit of a dip. Varun, I think, will also lift his game. That’s what India will be hoping for, that they can lift their performances in big tournaments. With so much cricket being played now, it’s unwise to judge players purely on bilateral series when they’re trying to peak for ICC tournaments. Fans will just have to hold faith and believe that the options India have will take them deep into the tournament as they try to defend their title.”
