T20 World Cup 2026: ‘Washington Sundar won’t be playing in Delhi’ - Ex-batting coach shares India’s likely changes ahead of Namibia clash

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar has opined that even if Washington Sundar is fully fit, he is unlikely to find a place in India’s playing XI for their T20 World Cup 2026 clash against Namibia. However, Bangar believes that star pacer Jasprit Bumrah is set to return to the XI, with Mohammed Siraj likely to make way for him.

India will take on Namibia in their second Group A match of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on February 12. The Men in Blue began their campaign with a 29-run victory over the United States of America in Mumbai on February 7, a match India won despite the absence of Bumrah.

"It's great news that Washington Sundar is going to be joining the team because the Indian team were patient with him. They have high confidence in his abilities, and the very fact that they persisted with him despite not being available for the start of the tournament means that they want to play with a similar combination," said Bangar on the Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues’.

"If, say for instance, a spin-bowling all-rounder is not available, then Washington Sundar can certainly come in. But I don't see him playing in Delhi. I certainly see Jasprit Bumrah making it to the playing XI, and the player to miss out would be the in-form Mohammed Siraj," he added.

The former Indian batting coach was asked about the lessons for India ahead of their World Cup clash against Namibia and cautioned against overanalysing the game against the USA. He added that the Indian team could afford to bat a little more conservatively if required, but stressed that they should not significantly alter their overall approach.

"I don't think Indian batters should overanalyze what happened at Wankhede against USA because the kind of approach the Indian batting bats with nowadays in T20 cricket, it is obviously fraught with risk. On days like that, when maybe a couple of wickets fall, and you still want to keep going hard, you are going to lose wickets in clutches," said Bangar.

"So it is one learning. Maybe slow down a little bit, but do not have too much of a doubt in terms of your approach because that fearless approach has given you a lot of success. So keep backing your abilities and keep playing the way this Indian batting has approached T20 cricket over the last 18 months or so," he added.