Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s Phil Salt and Gujarat Titans (GT)’s Jos Buttler could become one of the most feared opening pairs for England at the T20 World Cup 2026 as well. The competition starts on February 7 and will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka as well.

Speaking on his YouTube channel during a discussion on Wednesday, January 4, Ashwin said, “England are coming into this World Cup after beating Sri Lanka 3-0 at home. And I’m saying that England are a team to reckon with. They dominate the powerplay with the bat. The opening combination of Salt and Buttler needs some discussion because at times they have tried Duckett with Salt.”

“I think Salt has had a minor injury recently, but I still believe he will play. From my side, I’d want Salt and Buttler to open together because Buttler has huge experience in Asian conditions, and Salt is at the peak of his powers. If they open together, I would definitely say it is one of the most feared opening pairs in the powerplay in this competition,” he further added.

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“Now, if we look at the bowling, we need to pay special attention to Adil Rashid. Forget the numbers for a moment. His wickets, economy, everything looks good, but he has reached a stage in his career where the ball seems to be listening to him. Also, he has made some variations to his googly, it is turning more sharply and also spinning faster,” he again shared.

However, Ravichandran Ashwin also stated that Adil Rashid will be important as England’s go-to bowler, while claiming that the side’s main concerns are its fast-bowling resources as well.

“Adil Rashid will again be a force to reckon with. There was a time when I felt he was playing mainly because England did not have many spin options, and that if he played in any other country, he might struggle. But the way he is bowling now, I think he is the go-to man, not only for England but, he will also be feared around the competition. Their weakness is that there is a lot of unpredictability in fast bowling. Sam Curran’s economy rate and the trust being shown in Jamie Overton are areas that need discussion, especially when it comes to his economy as well,” he shared.

“Another weakness is related to Will Jacks. I would not call Jacks a weakness, but England are not using his batting properly. If I were England, and an early wicket fell in the powerplay, I would send Jacks in during the powerplay. But what they are doing right now is using him in the middle order, where he is not comfortable. His strike rate there is around 125. However, he can make an impact with the ball. He is bowling reasonably well. So I think England will have to utilise both him and Jacob Bethell very well,” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded.