A flat red-soil pitch at the Wankhede Stadium could level the playing field between India and England rather than hand either side an edge in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final, said former wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik.
It was the revamped opening duo of Abhishek Sharma (55) and Sanju Samson (24) who laid the platform with an aggressive start.
Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik believes defending champions India remain a formidable force heading into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, citing the team’s depth, attacking approach and strong record in home conditions.
Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has been appointed mentor and batting coach of the men's Hundred side London Spirit, marking his first support-staff assignment with a franchise outside the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Akash, who joined opener Yashasvi Jaiswal as nightwatchman on Day 2—was dropped on 21 and went on to bring up his maiden Test half-century, laced with 12 boundaries, before falling to Jamie Overton for 66.
According to team mentor VVS Laxman, Warner is looking as fit as ever and is raring to go.
Karthik also feels it will be a different KKR team in the upcoming season with reinforcements like Carlos Brathwaite and Harry Gurney.
Gavaskar also feels fast bowling all-rounder Vijay Shankar could also fly to England.
Speaking about their decision to drop Karthik, Prasad said it was because of their rotation policy and workload management for the players.
Here are the reasons behind India's downfall in T20I series against New Zealand.
