India wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant, who is not included in the Suryakumar Yadav-led side for the T20 World Cup 2026 squad, has picked four semifinalists of the marquee event, which will take place in India and Sri Lanka from February 7.
During Sports Tak's exclusive Salam Cricket event, the wicketkeeper batter picked India, Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan as the semifinalists of the T20 World Cup 2026.
“India, Australia, and South Africa; the fourth team should be Asian so it will be Afghanistan” said Rishabh Pant.
Will India defend T20 World Cup title? Rishabh Pant answers
In the same session, Pant, who recently got an injury before the ODI series against New Zealand, is confident that Team India will defend the title. He believes that the Men in Blue are in excellent form, winning eight series in a row, and the current squad has everything needed to lift their third T20 World Cup trophy.
Rishabh Pant describes Team India
During the same interaction, Rishabh Pant also described several Indian players from the T20 World Cup 2026 squad using just one word each. He called Ishan Kishan “cute” and described Abhishek Sharma as “handsome.” Sanju Samson was praised as a true team player, while Rinku Singh was labelled an “amazing team man” for always putting the team’s needs first.
Pant went on to describe Shivam Dube as a “game-changer” and reserved special praise for Hardik Pandya, calling his presence “outrageous” and “outstanding.” Tilak Varma was described as “brave,” while Washington Sundar earned the tag of a “smart package.”
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He wrapped up by calling Arshdeep Singh an “intelligent bowler.” Pant was part of India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2024, but has not featured in the format since last year. Despite that, the wicketkeeper-batter continues to play a key role in India’s Test and ODI teams.
India's T20 World Cup 2026 Group Stage schedule
Team India will start their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on February 7, 2026, against the USA in Mumbai, with all group-stage matches scheduled for 7:00 PM IST. The Men in Blue will feature Namibia on February 12 in Delhi, Pakistan on February 15 in Colombo, and the Netherlands on February 18 in Ahmedabad.