IND vs ENG: Why did Rehan Ahmed miss semi-final 2 of T20 World Cup 2026?
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Rehan Ahmed has played only one game in the T20 World Cup 2026.
India and England are clashing in the semi-final 2 of the T20 World Cup 2026 on Thursday (March 5) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The winner of the IND vs ENG match will face New Zealand in the final.
England were unbeaten in the Super 8 round and topped the Group 2 points table with 6 points. They defeated Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and New Zealand.
On the other hand, India lost to South Africa in their opening game of the second round but made a fabulous comeback by crushing Zimbabwe and the West Indies in their next two encounters.
In the semi-final 1, England captain Harry Brook won the toss and opted to bowl first. At the toss, Brook informed that they have made just one change to their playing XI. Spinner Rehan Ahmed was not part of the match.
On the other hand, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav informed that they have made no changes to their side.
Why is Rehan Ahmed not playing against India?
Notably, spin all-rounder Ahmed has been dropped from the match, and seam all-rounder Jamie Overton replaced him in the playing 11. The change was made because England wanted to include an extra fast bowler in the playing XI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Ahmed featured in the previous game against New Zealand in the Super 8 round, which is his only game in the tournament so far. He scored an unbeaten 19 runs and clinched two wickets in the clash. Overton has played five matches and shown an impressive form, picking 9 wickets at a brilliant average of 12.55 and an economy of 6.64.
Speaking at the toss, Brook said, “We’re going to have a bowl tonight. (On the surface) It looks like a good wicket and hopefully we can get off to a good start with the ball and then try and chase it down. They’re going to have a hell of a lot of support tonight and hopefully we can keep it (crowd) quite quiet. Jamie Overton comes in for Rehan Ahmed”.
England (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Harry Brook(c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Why is Rehan Ahmed not part of the IND vs ENG semi-final 2?
Rehan Ahmed has been dropped for the match and replaced by Jamie Overton in the playing XI.
Who won the toss in IND vs ENG semi-final 2?
England won the toss and opted to field first in the match.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.