India began their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a win over the United States. After the match, pacer Mohammed Siraj spoke about his unexpected return to the T20I side. He replaced the injured Harshit Rana and made an immediate impact. Siraj admitted he never expected to be part of the World Cup squad.

Siraj revealed that he had personal plans before getting the call. “My plan was that on the 15th, there was a Real Madrid match, and I was going to watch it,” he said. With Ramadan approaching, he had planned his time accordingly. “But whatever God has written will happen,” Siraj added, saying destiny played its role.

The fast bowler also shared how shocked he felt when he got the news. “I felt I was not destined to play the tournament,” Siraj said, as he had not featured much in T20Is recently. He explained how Suryakumar Yadav personally informed him about the selection. “God had written all this, no one can change it,” Siraj said.

Siraj Delivers, SKY Anchors as India Seal Win

Siraj said his motivation while bowling was emotional, as playing a World Cup is every player’s dream. He focused on bowling wicket to wicket with the new ball, using the same line and length he used in domestic cricket. “That was the plan, and I executed it,” he said. The approach helped India apply early pressure.

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In the match, the USA won the toss and chose to field first. India suffered early setbacks as Abhishek Sharma was out for a golden duck. Ishan Kishan scored 20 and Tilak Varma made 25, but both were dismissed by Shadley van Schalkwyk, triggering a collapse that left India struggling at 77/6.

Despite the collapse, Suryakumar Yadav played a brilliant unbeaten knock of 84 off 49 balls to guide India to 161/9. Siraj was the first to strike in the chase, ending with 3/29, while Arshdeep Singh took 2/18. The USA were limited to 132/8, giving India a 29-run victory and an ideal start to its World Cup journey.