In a video shared by Star Sports on X, Chahal backed his former Rajasthan Royals skipper, Sanju Samson, to open the innings for the team with Abhishek Sharma, despite his recent below par performance, where Samson scored just 46 runs in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.

Chahal has trusted Tilak Varma, who will return from injury to bat at number three, a position where the left-handed batter has achieved major success.

T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav was slotted to bat at No. 4, while Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh will continue to play the middle order and finisher role for the team.

Chahal went with two spinners in Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy and two specialist seamers in the form of Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. The combination left no room for his partner Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. Kuldeep has played just five T20I matches since the 2025 Asia Cup Final.

T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav was slotted to bat at No. 4, while Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh will continue to play the middle order and finisher role for the team.

Chahal's playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.