The T20 World Cup 2026 countdown has started. The Indian cricket team who won the previous championship title and remain as main contenders for victory has completed their last training session. India will play South Africa on February 4 except for the official warm-up match. India achieved their World Cup preparation goal through a 4-1 series victory against New Zealand. The Trivandrum match raised important questions about the team composition. The game provided answers to all questions except three. India needed to find a replacement for their second opening batsman. Sanju Samson could not perform well during the first four games against New Zealand. He should have benefited from playing at home but he actually performed worse. He again scored less than 10 runs. Ishan Kishan, who competes with Samson for the roles of opener and wicketkeeper, achieved his first T20I century. India no longer needs to solve the problem of finding a partner for Abhishek Sharma. Samson, who previously served as Shubman Gill's backup, now exists behind Kishan in the team's hierarchy. Suryakumar Yadav had entered the series short of form. He scored three half-centuries in five matches against New Zealand. The Indian T20I captain scored 80.66 with a batting average and his strike rate reached 196.74. The series started with him as India's most important problem but the matter has resolved itself now. Tilak Varma is ready ? The New Zealand series will take place with two key Indian players named Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar who suffered injuries beforehand. Reports indicate Tilak will be fit for the T20 World Cup. He will participate in two warm-up matches which include one match for India and another match for India 'A' before India starts its campaign against the USA on February 7. Match fitness could still be a concern. Tilak has not played in any international matches since December 19. His lack of playing time will result in him being unprepared to play which will disrupt India’s batting lineup. Washington Sundar is fit? Who’ll replace him if he isn’t? Washington Sundar, meanwhile, will undergo a fitness test on February 4. His availability will be confirmed only after that assessment. Riyan Parag has emerged as a potential replacement and is set to play two warm-up matches for India ‘A’. Parag will enter the match only if Washington fails to recover his fitness. Parag has not played international cricket since his last match which took place in October 2024. The impact of his absence remains unknown until he receives another opportunity to prove himself. Jasprit Bumrah’s usage: India has decided to use Jasprit Bumrah during non-powerplay periods after the 2025 Asia Cup. He bowls just one over in the first six, usually the fifth or sixth, while Hardik Pandya often takes the new ball. Also Read | Pat Cummins Ruled Out of T20 World Cup 2026, 31 Year Old Left Armer Replaces Him The team intends to use Hardik's swing abilities while avoiding his use during middle overs. Although Bumrah can operate in all phases, this approach has reduced his overall impact. He misses out on exploiting the hard new ball and rarely bowls to fresh batters. India may rethink this strategy at the World Cup, but for now, it doesn’t appear to be the ideal call. India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh India’s schedule for T20 World Cup 2026: Match Date Venue Stage India vs USA February 7 Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Group India vs Namibia February 12 Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi Group India vs Pakistan February 15 R. Premadasa InternationalCricket Stadium, Colombo Group India vs Netherlands February 18 Narendra Modi Stadium,Ahmedabad Group