Sanju Samson to NOT be included in India's playing 11 against South Africa in T20 World Cup

Earlier to Suryakumar Yadav's pre-match press conference, it looked almost certian that India will include Sanju Samson in the playing 11 for the game against South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This speculation was assumed legit especially because Sanju Samson ended up spending more time at the nets as compared to other players. It was assumed that Sanju Samson will replace either Abhishek Sharma, who is struggling with form or Tilak Varma, whose strike rate in the middle overs has become a cause of concern for Indian team. 

However, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav cleared the air in the press conference and confirmed "indirectly" that Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma will not be dropped from India's playing 11 against South Africa on Sunday. When said about inclusion of Sanju Samson, he said, "Do you want me to drop Abhishek Sharma or Tilak Varma to include Sanju Samson?" Laughed. 

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India is set to face South Africa in the Super 8 on 22 February 

India vs South, the Group 1 Super 8 fixture at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, is set to be played on 22 February at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Fans can enjoy the match from 7:00 PM IST. 

Probable XIs

India: Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh

South Africa: Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Corbin Bosch, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi