Players of the United States of America (USA) cricket team were spotted enjoying Maharashtra’s iconic street food, pani puri, following their T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match against India A at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. A video showing USA players eating pani puri from a roadside stall quickly went viral on social media.
Several players in the USA squad are of Indian origin, making the moment a nostalgic experience as they embraced local flavours during their stay in Mumbai. The outing came after a competitive warm-up encounter against a strong India A side, where the USA delivered an encouraging performance despite falling short by 38 runs while chasing a daunting target of 238.
In the high-scoring fixture, Andries Gous led the USA batting effort with a composed 44, while Sanjay Krishnamurthi provided late fireworks with an impressive 18-ball 41. Their contributions helped the USA test themselves against quality opposition ahead of the 20-team marquee event.
From India A’s perspective, the match marked Tilak Varma’s return from injury, and the left-hander made an immediate impact with a brisk 38 off 24 deliveries. Wicketkeeper-batter Narayan Jagadeesan anchored the innings with a superb 104, while Ayush Badoni added valuable runs with an unbeaten 60, helping India A post a commanding total.
Looking ahead, the USA will open their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against hosts India on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The American side will also draw confidence from their memorable debut in the 2024 edition, where they reached the Super Eight stage and famously defeated Pakistan in a Super Over.
They are placed in a challenging group alongside India, Pakistan, Namibia, and the Netherlands and will play their final warm-up match against New Zealand on February 5 in Mumbai as they fine-tune preparations for the tournament.
USA Squad for T20 World Cup 2026:
Monank Patel (c), Jessy Singh, Andries Gous, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Saiteja Mukkamala, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Mohammad Mohsin, Shubham Ranjane
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