USA vow to leave a ‘statement’ in T20 World Cup 2026; Jasdeep Singh says ‘feels like India are playing Stick Cricket’

Comparing India's recent approach in T20 cricket to the mobile video game Stick Cricket, United States of America (USA) vice-captain Jasdeep Singh stated that their T20 World Cup 2026 opener against world no.1 will be “just another game” when the two teams meet at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. It will be USA's second consecutive T20 World Cup.

Jasdeep's Stick Cricket reference came after India's scintillating batting against New Zealand in the fifth T20I and against South Africa in the warm-up fixture, just like the high-scoring matches the mobile game offers to its users. Riding on Ishan Kishan's hundred and a 63 from captain Suryakumar Yadav, India put on a mammoth 271/5 against the Kiwis.

Four days later, the Men in Blue breezed past 200 (240/6 to be precise) once again against the Proteas to send out a warning to other 19 teams in the T20 World Cup 2026. “At times if feels like they are playing Stick Cricket (laughs), but that tells you about the competition that India has,” Jasdeep, who has Indian roots, told Livemint in an exclusive interaction from Mumbai.

"They are big boys, but for us we got to keep in our mind that it's just another game and we have got to do the best for the best interests of our team,” he said.

Having upset Pakistan in the previous edition and making India toil hard till the penultimate over in the 2024 edition of the tournament, USA are no longer can be called pushovers as they are looking to build on their impressive show from the previous edition.

“Going into the World Cup, we don't just want to take part in it, we want to make a mark and leave a statement that this team is hungry to play out there and get that sort of exposure,” added Jasdeep, who still finds time to go for a quick trip to his hometown Punjab, where he spent 10 years.

Following the success of 2024 T20 World Cup, things weren't smooth in USA cricket. From ICC suspension to bankruptcy withing the cricket board, robbed the national team players of international exposure as they played just three T20Is in 2025. Despite that, Jasdeep & Co prepared themselves by playing various franchise T20 leagues around the world.

“We were hit by a lot of things,” said Jasdeep. "We have been hit by suspension, lot of issues and bankruptcy within the board. We have gone through a lot ever since the last World Cup. We haven't been able to get that sort of international T20s going but when it comes to preparation, we played a lot of T20 cricket within the USA.

“Also the Major League Cricket was happening, that was also competitive tournament and a lot of our boys take parts in various franchise leagues all around the globe,” added the pacer, who has transformed himself into one of the USA's most reliable options with the ball in recent years.

“To be able to experience that in India in front of the Indian crowd is a great feeling. I have heard a lot about the Wankhede crowd. I am actually excited more than nervous to sort of experience that,” concluded the 32-year-old.

USA's T20 World Cup 2026 schedule