Former India cricketer Suresh Raina has named his preferred opening pair for India in the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February and March next year. The Men in Blue, who ended an 11-year ICC trophy drought by winning the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, will enter the tournament as strong contenders to claim the title again.
Raina believes the BCCI should consider giving the opening roles to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhishek Sharma, with Priyansh Arya also in contention for the spot. Speaking on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel, he said, “I think…mujhe lagta hai Yashasvi ek hai (Yashasvi is one). They can also look for Priyansh Arya; Abhishek Sharma is there, and Sanju Samson is there. KL Rahul is also there. He has performed wherever he got a chance. Ruturaj Gaikwad has also scored many runs. But I would prefer Abhishek Sharma. Shubman Gill can be captain as well; you never know.”
He added, “Mujhe lagta hai inko I think Yashasvi Jaiswal, Priyansh Arya aur Abhishek Sharma – teeno leftie mein se 2 koi ho sakte hai (I think the two openers will be chosen among Yashasvi Jaiswal, Priyansh Arya and Abhishek Sharma). Shubman Gill 3 number ho sakte hai (Shubman Gill can bat at No.3).”
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At present, Abhishek Sharma is the only one out of the three who is a regular part of India’s T20I setup. Yashasvi Jaiswal last played a T20I in July 2024, while Priyansh Arya has yet to make his international debut. Abhishek Sharma is also included in the 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, while Jaiswal was named only as a standby and Priyansh was not included. India is scheduled to start their Asia Cup campaign on September 10, facing the UAE. They will then take on arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14, and conclude the group stage by playing Oman on September 19. Under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, the team looks set to prepare strongly for this important tournament ahead of the T20 World Cup.
India’s squad for Asia Cup: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jure