India likely to stick with unchanged XI for must-win T20 World Cup Super 8 clash vs West Indies

3 hours ago 29

2 min readMar 1, 2026 03:45 PM IST

India is likely to go in with an unchanged side for their must-win T20 World Cup Super 8 game against West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday. The Indian Express understands that the team doesn’t want to change the winning combination that defeated Zimbabwe on Thursday in Chennai.

The reigning champions will continue to use Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma at the top, while Ishan Kishan is expected to bat at number three. Captain Suryakumar Yadav is expected to bat at number four. The winner of this game will qualify for the semifinals, along with South Africa, from Group 1. India lost to the Proteas in their Super 8 opener in Ahmedabad before returning to winning ways against Zimbabwe.

The team tried a different combination against Zimbabwe, where they had dropped Rinku Singh and Washington Sundar and had included Samson and vice-captain Axar Patel.

Meanwhile, Tilak Varma’s effortless shift to the number six role against Zimbabwe may have opened up a new dimension for India’s batting, but don’t read too much into it ahead of Sunday’s virtual quarterfinal against West Indies. Indian team’s assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate had made it clear on Saturday that nothing is set in stone when it comes to India’s batting order.

“It’s not a foregone conclusion that he will bat at 5 or 6 tomorrow. We have different entry points for the guys. But I thought Tilak the other night looked like a natural No. 6 – really comfortable at a 10-over entry point. That’s a massive kudos to him and the way he is adapting his game,” Ten Doeschate said at the pre-match press conference.

Ten Doeschate added that the pitch assessment at Eden Gardens would ultimately determine which combination India goes in with. “We’ll have a proper look at the pitch and decide. But it’s comforting to know we have a little more power down the middle. The link between getting out of the blocks quickly and setting up for the backend is the key to India’s success – and it’s nice to know Tilak can perform that role for us.”

Having spent years covering Mumbai’s local "maidan" cricket circuit, Devendra Pandey brings a unique ground-level perspective to his reporting. ... Read More

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