India’s dominant showing against New Zealand has sent a timely warning to the rest of the field ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, with former Australia batter Michael Klinger tipping the defending champions as the team to beat. Klinger, now head coach of WPL side Gujarat Giants, believes India’s aggressive top-order and growing depth make them exceptionally hard to stop in subcontinental conditions.

“With the form they’re in and what I saw recently against New Zealand, India are going to be extremely difficult to beat. A team will probably have to catch them on a bad night in a final to beat them,” Michael Klinger told PTI, underlining how consistently India are setting the tone at the top of the order.

The former Australian cricketer reserved special praise for Abhishek Sharma, whose fearless intent has transformed India’s powerplay approach. Having watched him closely in the IPL and now at the international level, Klinger feels Abhishek brings a modern, high-impact style that can tilt games within the first six overs.

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“Abhishek Sharma is probably my new favourite player. I’ve been watching him for a while now… he’s fearless and amazing to watch,” he said, highlighting the opener’s growing influence in India’s T20 setup.

India’s renewed batting depth has also been boosted by Ishan Kishan’s return to form. The left-hander’s recent performances against New Zealand have reignited selection debates, giving the team management enviable options at the top.

“Ishan Kishan has come back in fantastic form and is certainly putting a case forward to start in the XI at the World Cup,” Michael Klinger noted, pointing out that competition for places is now a strength rather than a problem for India.

While backing India as favourites, Klinger cautioned against writing off other heavyweights. He identified Australia and South Africa as the biggest threats, especially with South Africa coming off a busy run of T20 cricket. With conditions, pressure, and knockout cricket often levelling the field, India may still need to be at their ruthless best to defend their crown.

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India Squad For ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.