Chakravarthy, Hardik ignored as ex-India coach pick 3 'extremely critical' players for Team India in T20 World Cup 2026

Former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar has picked three critical players for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side for the remainder of the T20 World Cup 2026. Team India have a dominating outing in the marquee event so far as they have sealed their Spot for the Super 8, defeating USA, Namibia, Pakistan and the Netherlands respectively.

India's Super 8 schedule

Defending champions India will start their Super 8 campaign against last edition's finalists South Africa on February 22 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. After that the side will take Zimbabwe in Chennai and the West Indies in Kolkata on February 26 and March 1, respectively.

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Bangar's three critical players for India

Ahead of the Suryakumar Yadav-led side's first Super 8 clash, former India coach Bangar picked Ishan Kishan among the three most crucial players for the team in the showpiece event.

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"From here on, three players who are going to be extremely critical to India's journey in this T20 World Cup are going to be men in form, and that's where I feel Ishan Kishan, the way he has been batting. Considering the lack of runs from Abhishek Sharma, the onus now falls on Ishan Kishan to give those explosive starts. That is player number one," Bangar said on Star Sports.

Bangar picked SKY, Bumrah

Bangar further picked skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah as his second and third most crucial players for India in the T20 World Cup 2026.

"Player number two is Suryakumar Yadav. He has scored runs in most of the games on a consistent basis, understanding the situation of the game. The third player is going to be Jasprit Bumrah," Bangar observed.

"Everybody is talking about the spin aspect of this Indian team, but I believe that Jasprit Bumrah is going to hold the key when the match is on the line as far as bowling is concerned," he added.

Ishan, Bumrah and SKY's performance in T20WC so far

Ishan Kishan slammed 176 runs at a strike rate of 202.29 in four innings in the T20 World Cup 2026. On the other hand, skipper Suryakumar Yadav scored 162 runs in four outings, whereas Bumrah picked up four wickets at an economy of 6 in three innings.