Only eight days after left for the T20 World Cup 2026 to get underway and Team India are still hoping for two of their key players - Washington Sundar and Tilak Varma - to regain full fitness for the tournament. Both players have missed the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand, but the team management is hopeful for them to regain full fitness in time for the mega event.
According to a report in Cricbuzz, Sundar is on the road to recovery and should be ready for India's first match against the USA. The all-rounder has been out of action since the first ODI against the Kiwis due to an acute onset of discomfort in his left lower rib area. It is not yet known if Sundar will be ready for the warm-up clash against South Africa on February 4 but the selectors are hoping for him to be available for the USA clash on February 7.
What about Tilak Varma?
For the unversed, Tilak Varma was sidelined from the series against New Zealand after undergoing a minor surgery. According to the report, however, he is on his way to be in action soon and is expected to feature in the warm-up clash against the Proteas. "The India batter Tilak Varma underwent surgery for an abdominal issue in Rajkot on Wednesday, 7 January. He was discharged from the hospital on Thursday morning and is scheduled to fly back to Hyderabad on Friday.
"He is currently stable and progressing well. Tilak will resume physical training and gradually return to skill-based activities once his symptoms have fully resolved and wound healing is satisfactory," BCCI had said. Both Sundar and Tilak are a massive part of India's playing XI and it will be a huge blow to the defending champions if they fail to recover in time for the World Cup.
Warld Cup squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vc), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wk)
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