India will apparently begin their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign without all 15 members from their original squad fit and available. This is because after Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah is reportedly unavailable for India’s first match of the competition on Saturday against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 got underway on Saturday morning in Colombo, where Pakistan took on the Netherlands. The second game of the day is between Scotland and the West Indies, to be played in the afternoon in Kolkata.
India are the defending champions and the co-hosts of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 and will be looking to create two historical records in this tournament: No team has ever successfully defended their men’s T20 World Cup title, and no team has won the men’s T20 trophy while being the host or co-host.
However, the start of their campaign has been hit with injuries. Sundar, who missed the entire T20I series against New Zealand, is apparently not yet fit for the IND vs USA match. Harshit Rana has already been ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury that he sustained during the warm-up match against South Africa on February 4. Mohammed Siraj has been added as Rana’s replacement in the squad.
And now, the defending champions have been handed a huge jolt as Bumrah is reportedly set to miss today’s match against the USA, and the reason for his potential absence is provided below. While Sundar and Harshit were not guaranteed starters in India’s XI, Bumrah was.
IND vs USA: Why will Jasprit Bumrah not play against the USA?
According to a report in The Indian Express, Jasprit Bumrah will reportedly miss the match against the USA due to viral fever. It is learned that “Bumrah will be given rest by the Indian team management and will not be rushed into playing” against the USA.
In Bumrah’s likely absence, Siraj, who was drafted into the squad as Harshit’s replacement, is all but certain to be part of the XI and form a pace attack with Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya. The report added that Bumrah didn’t train on Friday.
India’s second group game is scheduled for February 15 against Pakistan in Colombo. However, that match is under a massive cloud, as the Pakistan government has told the PCB to boycott the IND vs PAK match. If Pakistan boycotts that game, they will forfeit two points, which will be added to India’s tally.
Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan is set to open with Abhishek Sharma following the contrasting forms of Kishan and Sanju Samson in the New Zealand T20I series.
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