The 2026 T20 World Cup will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka and will be played in February and March next year. The Men in Blue had won the previous edition of the mega tounament under the leadership of Rohit Sharma in 2024. With this, they had ended their 11-year drought for an ICC trophy. They will definitely be among the favourites to win the trophy for the second time in a row.
Ahead of the T20 World Cup, former India batter Suresh Raina named the opening pair that the Men in Blue should opt for in the highly-important tournament. Though there are many batters in the mix, Raina feels that Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhishek Sharma should be handed the responsibility of opening the innings. He further stated that Priyansh Arya should also be considered by the selectors for the role.
“I think…mujhe lagta hai Yashasvi ek hai (Yashasvi is one). They can also look for Priyansh Arya; Abhishek Sharma is there, and Sanju Samson is there. KL Rahul is also there. He has performed wherever he got a chance. Ruturaj Gaikwad has also scored many runs. But I would prefer Abhishek Sharma. Shubman Gill can be captain as well; you never know," Raina said on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel.
“Mujhe lagta hai inko I think Yashasvi Jaiswal, Priyansh Arya aur Abhishek Sharma – teeno leftie mein se 2 koi ho sakte hai (I think the two openers will be chosen among Yashasvi Jaiswal, Priyansh Arya and Abhishek Sharma). Shubman Gill 3 number ho sakte hai (Shubman Gill can bat at No.3)," he added.
Interestingly, Abhishek is currently the only one out of the three players who is a mainstay in India's T20I set-up. Jaiswal's last T20I appearance came in July, 2024 while Priyansh is yet to make his international debut. Abhishek is also the only one out of the three to be present in the Men in Blue's 15-member squad for Asia Cup 2025. While Jaiswal was only picked as a standby for the continental tournament, Priyansh's name was nowehere to be found.
India to soon begin their Asia Cup campaign
Meanwhile, the Indian team's next assignment in the shortest format will be the Asia Cup which is set to begin from September 9. Suryakumar Yadav & Co. will commence their campaign with the clash against UAE on September 10 before facing-off against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14. Their group stage will come to a conclusion with the match against Oman on September 19.