The Indian team did not select Sanju Samson in their playing XI in the high-voltage clash against Pakistan during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the R Premadasa Stadium. The defending champions India aim to achieve their third consecutive victory to qualify for the Super Eight stage. The T20 World Cup match against Namibia marked Samson's first appearance in the tournament because Abhishek Sharma could not participate due to his stomach illness. The Kerala batter played a quick knock of 22 runs from just eight balls, hitting three sixes and one four. He delivered an explosive performance but did not achieve a higher total. Abhishek recovered from his injury so the team reinstated him for the Pakistan match which forced Samson to miss participation. During the toss India captain Suryakumar Yadav announced two player changes. Abhishek Sharma came in for Samson while Kuldeep Yadav replaced Arshdeep Singh. Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha won the toss and chose to bowl first. India captain Suryakumar Yadav said at the toss: "Not at all, we were looking to bat first. We won the last two games defending, so we don't want to change it. It is an occasion, it's a high-stakes game. This sport teaches you a lot of things; any side can win the game on a given day. Two changes. Abhishek Sharma comes in, and Kuldeep Yadav is in for Arshdeep Singh." Also Read | India vs Pakistan: No Handshake Policy to Continue in T20 World Cup 2026 SKY Had Already Dropped a Hint Before the Match Suryakumar indicated that Abhishek would return to play if he achieved full recovery one day before the game. The pre-match press conference saw him respond to questions about Abhishek’s recovery with lightheartedness. "If Pak wants us to play Abhishek, then done. Tomorrow he will play," Suryakumar said on the eve of the game. The team management intended to bring back Abhishek as soon as he became healthy. Samson’s omission from the team occurred because the team chose their main opening player instead of him for the key match. India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah Pakistan (Playing XI): Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Khan(w), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq