India are set to kick-off their ICC T20 World Cup title defense at the Wankhede Stadium against USA later today, February 7, 2026.

The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM IST, which means that the coin toss should take place at around 6:30 PM, which is when the playing XIs for both teams are expected to be revealed. 

However, we can make an educated guess as to who will make the cut for the Men in Blue given recent reports and injury concerns. For those interested, here is India's predicted playing XI for their T20 World Cup 2026 clash against USA.

T20 World Cup 2026: India Predicted Playing XI

The first big change that we might see from India's usual setup is Sanju Samson, who has been experiencing a lean patch of late, to be replaced by Ishan Kishan, who is in red-hot form. 

Fast bowling all-rounder, Harshit Rana, has been ruled out from the tournament due to a knee injury, which means that he won't be available for selection.

Additionally, Jasprit Bumrah, the team's bowling attack spearhead, could reportedly be out for the match due to a viral fever, likely replaced by Mohammed Siraj, who has been called in as Harshit's injury replacement. 

Rest of the side looks settled and should remain unchanged. With these things in mind, here's a look at India's predicted playing XI for their match against USA in Mumbai:

Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy

Readers are once again reminded that this is only a predicted playing XI. India's actual combination for the match will be revealed later today, likely after the toss has been conducted.

IND vs USA: T20 WC 2026 Full Squads

Here is a look at the full squads for the two teams for this tournament:

India - Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj

USA - Monank Patel (C), Jessy Singh, Andries Gous, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Saiteja Mukkamala, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Mohammad Mohsin, Shubham Ranjane