T20 World Cup 2026: Is Axar Patel playing in India vs England?

India take on England in the second semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. With a place in the final at stake, the winner of this high-voltage encounter will face the New Zealand national cricket team on March 8 at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Toss Update

Harry Brook won the toss and opted to bowl first in the second semi-final. Brook mentioned that the wicket looks good for batting and expressed hope that his side would make the most of the early conditions. He also admitted that in T20 cricket, the game can change rapidly and one can never predict how it will unfold. On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav acknowledged the magnitude of the occasion, calling it a big game. He added that there is unlikely to be much dew later in the evening, suggesting that conditions should remain consistent throughout the contest.

Is Axar Patel playing in India vs England, Semi-Final 2?

India have gone into the semi-final with an unchanged playing XI, showing faith in the combination that brought them this far in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, England have made one change to their lineup, bringing in Jamie Overton in place of Rehan Ahmed to strengthen their bowling options for the crucial clash.

What did the captains say?

Suryakumar Yadav, India captain

We were looking to bat first. Semifinal, big game, and there’s wind around too. Don’t think there will be much dew. Looks a good one (the pitch). The best one. Credit to all the curators and groundsmen. Same team.

Harry Brook, England Captain

We’re going to have a bowl. Looks like a good wicket, hopefully we can get off to a good start with the ball. They’ve obviously got a lot more experience on this ground than us. T20 cricket is such a fickle game, you never know what’s going to happen. Hopefully we can keep them quiet (the crowd). Overton comes in for Rehan.

IND vs ENG: Playing XIs

India

Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (w), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

England

Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (w), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid