T20 World Cup 2026: Dinesh Karthik urges Team India management to back THESE three players

"It's a home World Cup. India are defending champions. India are the team that is obviously the most hunted team in the World Cup, considering the cricket that they've played in the lead-up to the World Cup. So, everything suggests that India will be the team that will probably start knowing that they are expected to win. So, there's always a bit more pressure when you start that way," he said.

"Even though England have had a couple of tough games in Mumbai, they almost can come in and play in a manner which suggests that they have little lesser to lose than India," added Karthik.

Speaking more, the former cricketer said that the management needs to stick with the top order, which consists of players Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan.

"In a big tournament like a World Cup, you have to trust the players who have got you there. And I believe they need to stick to Abhishek, Sanju and Ishan Kishan. And just give the belief and almost make sure that they give themselves the best chance of success on the big day," said the 40-year-old former cricketer.

On the other hand, the "Three Lions" will also expect their premier batsman Jos Buttler to bring his 'A-game' tonight against the "Men in Blue".

T20 World Cup 2026, IND vs ENG: Full Squads

India: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan (WK), Rinku Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Abhishek Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Tilak Varma.

England: Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Jos Buttler (WK), Jamie Overton, Ben Duckett, Jofra Archer, Luke Wood, Sam Curran, Phil Salt (WK), Josh Tongue, Harry Brook (C), Tom Banton, Will Jacks, Jacob Bethell, Rehan Ahmed.

(With ANI Inputs)