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Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson - (Source: AFP)
On Wednesday, February 4, India locked horns against South Africa for their only warmup match ahead of T20 World Cup 2026. The two teams squared off at the Dr Dy Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. India captain won the toss and opted to bat first.
During the coin flip, Suryakumar Yadav dropped a bombshell remark and confirmed that the Men in Blue have a new opening pair. SKY confirmed that Sanju Samson has been demoted from the opening slot and Ishan Kishan will pair up with Abhishek Sharma at the top.
Suryakumar Yadav's thoughts on India's new opening pair
Suryakumar Yadav : "We are going to bat first. It is something we have been doing well. There might be some dew later in the evening, we want to test our bowlers in challenging conditions and defend the total, whatever we get."
"Definitely Ishan and Abhishek. [On dealing with pressure and expectations] See, I think when you are playing in India in front of your home ground, there are expectations. But at the same time so many people in the stadium cheering you on, I think it gives you an extra advantage," SKY added.
Why have India demoted Sanju Samson from the opening slot?
Sanju Samson has been a talking point in Indian cricket for the past few months. Before Asia Cup 2025, Abhishek Sharma and Samson were the two openers and actually did well for the team as well.
However, the management suddenly thought of bringing in Shubman Gill into the side, which forced Samson to play in the middle-order. It shattered Samson's confidence and demands grew among fans to reinstate Samson back at the top.
Gill's poor run forced the selectors to pick Ishan Kishan in the team ahead of his friend, following a great SMAT season. It also resulted in a great opportunity for Samson, who was pushed back at the top.
Although, Samson squandered the opportunity and amassed just 49 runs in five innings against New Zealand. Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan shone at No.3 and also slammed his maiden century.
Now with Tilak Varma returning, it has forced the management to push Ishan to open the innings, leading to no space for Samson in the team. The management had hinted about the same in the 5th T20I, when Ishan Kishan was asked to keep wickets.
India's squad for the warm-up vs South Africa
India Playing Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav
For the unversed, in a warmup match, all the squad members can bat and also bowl because there is no limit and the game is only a preparation for upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 which begins from February 7.
India will lock horns against USA on the opening day, while the Proteas will play against Canada on February 9.
