The opening pair has become the biggest headache for Team India in the T20 World Cup 2026. India’s opening pair also disappointed the fans in the match being played against South Africa at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The opening pair has given only 34 runs to India in five matches of the T20 World Cup. These include the pair of Ishan-Abhishek in four matches and the pair of Ishan-Samson in one match. Abhishek did not play against Namibia and Samson opened.
Ishaan-Abhishek’s magic is not working
To chase the target of 188 runs set by South Africa, the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan came on the field. However, Ishan’s innings ended in just four balls and the Indian team’s opening pair could not even score a single run on the scoreboard. The wicketkeeper-batsman returned to the pavilion without opening his account. Whereas, Abhishek was out after scoring 15 runs. This is not the condition of this match only, but this has been the fate of India’s opening pair in the five matches played so far. Let us know… In the first match of the tournament against America, Abhishek and Ishan Kishan came on the field to open the innings. However, this partnership could last only for eight runs and Abhishek returned to the pavilion without opening the account. Due to Abhishek being ill against Namibia, Ishan Kishan got a new partner in the form of Sanju Samson. However, the result was nothing special. Ishaan scored 61 runs in this match, but Sanju left after scoring 22 runs in eight balls. The result was that India’s opening partnership broke at the score of 25. Abhishek Sharma returned to the playing eleven against Pakistan and he came out to open the innings with Ishan Kishan. This time Team India’s opening pair broke after scoring just one run. Ishaan played aggressively and scored 77 runs in 40 balls, but Abhishek was out without opening the account. The story of failure of the opening partnership did not change even against Netherlands. Abhishek and Ishaan together could not add even a single run for the first wicket. Abhishek was out on zero, while Ishaan returned to the pavilion after scoring 18 runs. If we talk only about the pair of Ishaan and Abhishek, then both of them have made a partnership of only nine runs in four matches in this T20 World Cup. In one, Samson and Ishaan made an opening partnership of 25 runs.
Are Ishaan and Abhishek not able to fit together?
The Indian team’s worries have increased due to the continuous failure of the opening pair. If Team India has to defend the title on its own soil, then the pair of Abhishek and Ishaan will have to bat with more responsibility in the coming matches. This is also a matter of concern because till December last year, Abhishek had opened with either Sanju Samson or Shubman Gill.
Should Samson return?
When Ishan Kishan returned in January, he was sent to third or fourth position. When your preparation has been like that and at the last moment the team management pair changes, then your concentration can also get distracted. In such a situation, the team management should also consider whether Sanju should be brought back and Ishaan should be played at number three? In such a situation, Rinku may have to sit on the bench. Even a slight delay or mistake in choosing the right playing-11 can prove costly for Team India.
If compared to 2024…
In the year 2024, when India won the T20 World Cup title, captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were opening for the team. The responsibility of opening fell on two players who had played in almost every T20 World Cup before that edition (Virat was not part of the team in 2007). However, India’s opening story in 2024 was similar. In the first five matches, Rohit and Kohli together had added only 85 runs.
Partnership of 22 runs in 16 balls against Ireland.
Partnership of 12 runs in nine balls against Pakistan.
One run partnership in two balls against America.
Partnership of 11 runs in 17 balls against Afghanistan.
Partnership of 39 runs in 22 balls against Bangladesh.
Team India combination in 2024
Even then Rohit was scoring runs in some matches, but runs were not coming from Virat’s bat. However, the opening failure was handled by the middle-order batsmen, as India then had a good mix of right-handed and left-handed batsmen in the playing-11. Rohit was not known for much experimentation and tinkering in the playing-11. If any player was not injured, he believed in going into the next match with the same playing-11. Then, apart from Virat and Rohit (both right-handed) in the opening, there were Suryakumar (right-handed), Rishabh Pant and Shivam Dubey (both left-handed) in the middle. Akshar Patel was being used as a floater (left-handed). Then Hardik Pandya (right-handed) was included as the finisher. That is, at that time there were four right-handed and three left-handed batsmen in Team India. This was causing problems to the opposition teams. Rohit and Kohli were the two most powerful batsmen of the team. The job of one was to manage the game and the other to hit. It was believed that if one did not work, the other experienced one would take over. India will have six left-handed batsmen in 2026. Rohit kept playing good innings throughout the tournament, but did not play in the final. Then Virat Kohli played an important role in India’s victory by scoring a half-century. Rohit and Kohli seemed to be fulfilling each other’s shortcomings. However, this does not seem to be happening in the case of Ishaan and Abhishek. This time i.e. there are six left-handed and two right-handed batsmen in the 2026 T20 World Cup team. This is making it easier for the opposition team to make strategies.