Monty Panesar picks semifinalists for 2026 T20 World Cup; predicts struggling Team India star to win Player of the Tournament

Former England spinner Monty Panesar has predicted South Africa, England, India, and Australia as the semifinalists for the 2026 T20 World Cup. The tournament, set to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, will run from February 7 to March 8.

On Monday, December 22, during an interview with KADAK, Monty Panesar shared his picks, saying:

“I think South Africa, Australia, India, and England. England defeats big teams; that is their strength. I don’t think New Zealand is that strong right now. South Africa is strong. India will be strong. Australia is also strong. England as well.”

In the same interaction, he also named India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, as the potential player of the tournament. However, the 35-year-old has been struggling with form; in 2025, he played 21 matches and scored just 218 runs in 19 innings at a modest average of 13.62 and a strike rate of 123.16, without a single fifty.

Overall, the right-handed batter has featured in 99 T20I matches, amassing 2,788 runs at an average of 35.29 and a strike rate of 163.23, including 21 fifties and four hundreds.

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“Axar Patel will become the T20 captain” - Monty Panesar’s massive claim on India’s potential future skipper

In the same interview, when asked about who could be India’s future T20I captain, with Shubman Gill, who was previously seen as a strong candidate, now out of the team, Monty Panesar stated that head coach Gautam Gambhir favors all-rounders. He added that if India does not win the 2026 T20 World Cup, Axar Patel could become the team’s leader. He said:

“I think it is like that, because Gautam Gambhir likes all-rounders. In Test cricket as well as in T20s, he prefers players who can contribute a bit with both batting and bowling. He feels more comfortable with such players. So I think maybe if India does not win the T20 World Cup, then Axar Patel will become the T20 captain.”

Axar Patel has played 85 T20Is for India, scoring 681 runs, including one fifty, and has claimed 82 wickets, with his best bowling figures being 3/9.

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Edited by Dev Sharma