T20 World Cup 2026: 5 Players India should be wary of against Zimbabwe and West Indies

Team India will have two must-win games coming up in the Super 8s stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 tournament. After losing to South Africa by a massive 76 runs in their first Super 8 game, India will need to bring their A game against Zimbabwe and the West Indies.

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India will face Zimbabwe on February 24 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai and will then meet the West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 1. Both Zimbabwe and the West Indies have been on a roll. Zimbabwe defeated Sri Lanka and Australia to qualify for the Super 8s, while South Africa demolished Zimbabwe in the recent Super 8s game.

Both have players who are in red-hot form with the ball or the bat, and Team India will be wary of some of those players. Let’s have a look at some of those players from Zimbabwe and West Indies.

Here are the 5 players India should be wary of against Zimbabwe and the West Indies in the T20 World Cup 2026:

5. Sikandar Raza

Sikandar Raza, the Zimbabwe captain, has led to a revival of the team from depths of despair. They defeated Sri Lanka and Australia in group stages, and Raza has done well with the bat and the ball. He has scored 102 runs at a strike rate of 167.21 and has taken one wicket. He is a dangerous lower-order hitter with a huge range of shots and a brilliant spinner with many tricks up his sleeve.

4. Gudakesh Motie

Gudakesh Motie, the left-arm spinner, will be a dark horse against India. With Indian batters visibly struggling against spinners, Motie might come in as a trump card against Indian right-handed batters. Seeing how well Keshav Maharaj did against India, West Indies might play Motie in Kolkata. Motie has taken 10 wickets for the Windies, at a strike rate of 7.27 and best bowling figures of 4/28.

3. Blessing Muzarabani

Blessing Muzarabani is perhaps the reason why Zimbabwe is in the Super 8s. His amazing bowling against Australia and Ireland gave Zimbabwe big wins and important points. Muzarabani has taken 11 wickets at an economy of 7.08 with best bowling of 4/17. Muzarabani will love bowling on the slowish wicket in Chennai, where his height will come in handy.

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2. Sherfane Rutherford

Sherfane Rutherford has been an excellent finisher for the West Indies side in this T20 World Cup 2026. He has scored 157 runs in 5 matches, with a strike rate of 189.15 and a best score of 76*. Rutherford had done well in the IPL 2025 for Gujarat Titans and has vast experience playing in Kolkata as well. India will be wary of him if he goes off in the death overs.   

1. Shimron Hetmyer

Shimron Hetmyer has been the reason why the West Indies have been so dominant in the T20 World Cup 2026. He has flourished after being asked to bat at no. 3, resulting in him scoring 219 runs in 5 games at a strike rate of 185.89 and a best score of 85. More importantly, he has hit 17 sixes and 11 fours to both the spinners and the pacers. He will be a threat to India on the batting beauty pitch in Kolkata.

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