Ajinkya Rahane predicts 2026 T20 World Cup MVP, highest scorer, wicket-taker; big decision in semi-finals: The bell has sounded for the 2026 T20 World Cup and teams are preparing for the upcoming ICC tournament which will begin on February 7, 2026. The two hosts, India and Sri Lanka, are all set to take part in the 20-team tournament. Three matches were scheduled on the first day. In the first match, Pakistan faced the Netherlands, and then the West Indies faced the newly introduced Scotland team. Later in the evening, defending champion India will take on the United States.

Ahead of the big matches, experts, former cricketers and analysts are making predictions about MVP, run scorer, top scorer, dark horse and tournament winner. Ajinkya Rahane recently joined to provide his insights on the above list.

Ajinkya Rahane named leading man for T20 World Cup

When the former India captain was asked in a Cricbuzz discussion about the leading scorer of the tournament, Ajinkya Rahane predicted it to be Abhishek Sharma. The left-hander has been India’s best T20 batsman in recent years. He started with a strike rate of over 190 for the Men in Blue. Since his debut after the 2024 T20 World Cup, the top-ranked T20I batsman has scored nearly 1,300 runs in 38 games at an average of over 37.

Your daily dose of cricket!

Abhishek also holds the record for the second-fastest half-century (14 balls) and century (37 balls) by an Indian batsman in T20Is. This makes him an obvious choice in the list of leading run-scorers as he was also voted the probable player of the tournament and top scorer by Ricky Ponting.

Rahane predicts his top wicket-taker and MVP

Ajinkya Rahane picked Jasprit Bumrah as the highest batsman in the main tournament. The Indian speedster has been at the forefront of various formats in India and has been a consistent contributor for the Men in Blue.

He performed well in the 2024 T20 World Cup final and helped India win the title. He will play a vital role in the new ball and death overs if India need to play against a strong opponent at the Super Eight stage. He won the best player award in the last T20 World Cup in India.

For Most Valuable Player (MVP) or Player of the Tournament, Ajinkya Rahane prediction is Hardik Pandya. Pandya has been an important part of India’s white-ball system and has excelled when required. He played an important role in the last tournament, averaging 48 points per game and shooting over 150 points.

He bowled beautifully and picked up 11 wickets, showing his all-round ability. Pandya also bowled the final over of the final and changed India’s fortunes by taking the wicket of David Miller off the first ball with 16 runs needed in the final over.

Rahane snubs semi-finalists

Ajinkya Rahane also predicted the semi-finalists, picking India, South Africa, England and Sri Lanka. Former India batsman once again predicts India and South Africa will reach the final. He believes Afghanistan will be a dark horse in this World Cup.

Also read: Ricky Ponting snubs Jasprit Bumrah as he announces Player of the Tournament for T20 World Cup 2026