India look to solve opener and keeper conundrum at Mullanpur with 9 T20Is left for T20 World Cup 2026

It’s the T-9. Team India’s road to the 2026 T20 World Cup is getting closer and closer. The Men in Blue are just nine matches away from beginning their title defense against the United States in Mumbai on February 7. Since winning the cup in Barbados, India have lost only 4 T20I matches.

Without a doubt, India are the best T20I team in the world and the favorite to defend their title at home. But the Suryakumar Yadav-led side still needs to plug a few holes. In fact, if the fitness continues, India will have to settle for two places.

Shubman Gill’s bad patch

The second opening match will be one of them. Abhishek Sharma is not just the best opener but the best batter in the world. Eye tests, rankings and statistics prove it. The problem was his partner. Shubman Gill was given this role from the 2025 Asia Cup onwards, but his performance was not up to the mark.

Sanju Samson, who was the opener from July 2024 to August 2025, was moved as the opener to accommodate Gill, who was the starter after the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. However, since his return, Gill has not been able to justify his recall. He hasn’t scored a fifty, and it’s now been 13 innings.

His strike rate also remains a concern. India and Gill have 9 matches to sort things out. If they don’t, you’ll go into the T20 World Cup with an in-form opener in Gill, and his replacement wouldn’t have started the innings in the last 6 innings.

Stay with Jitesh Sharma

Since Samson was dropped, Jitesh Sharma replaced him. The 32-year-old is a proven finisher; he has been with the team for a few years now and has been one of the biggest surprises of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The problem with Jitesh is not the performance but the lack of playing time.

The wicketkeeper has batted only 3 times for India in 2025. Even in 2024, Jitesh has played only twice. He needs to be given a chance to prove himself, which means India cannot let him down now. He should be played if the management believe he is in their best XI and under no circumstances can he be dropped for Samson.

India schedule till T20 World Cup 2026