T20 World Cup 2026: 'I'll be happy if India wins' - JP Duminy predicts his semi-finalists, backs India-South Africa final | Exclusive

Former South Africa all-rounder JP Duminy has revealed his semi-finalists for the T20 World Cup 2026. He predicted that India, South Africa, England, and Pakistan would qualify past the Super 8 stage and reckoned that India and South Africa would make it to the summit clash.

“Four semi-finalists, I'm going to go to India, South Africa, England, and Pakistan,” Duminy said on Mr Cricket UAE podcast.

There is plenty of action remaining before the semi-final and final arrive. Currently, the two teams must cross the Super 8 hurdle to reach their goal. Incidentally, both teams will kick off the round against each other, as they meet in Ahmedabad on February 22.

India and South Africa have entered the stage with four wins on the trot, which means one of the winning streaks will come to an end come Sunday. Surprisingly, Duminy wants that to be South Africa’s. Asked about his prediction for the finalists, he said:

“[Finalists] India and South Africa. I'll be happy if India wins tomorrow [Super 8 clash in Ahmedabad on February 22] and we [South Africa] win the final.”

Duminy was also asked to name the key players to watch out for in the all-important clash in Ahmedabad. 

“I'm going for Marco Jansen from the bowling point of view, and I'm going for the captain, Aiden Markram, from the batting standpoint. For India, I would d like to go with Ishan Kishan as his form has been impressive, and you can't go past [Jasprit] Bumrah in the bowling department,” he said.

Asked about South Africa’s potential plan against the high-flying Kishan, Duminy said that employing Aiden Markram’s off-spin will be their best bet to exploit the match-up advantage, while he suggested a short-ball ploy from the quicks Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen as one of the methods to disrupt his rhythm. He also recommended that keeping Kishan away from the strike and striking at the other end could be another method for South Africa to tilt the scales in their favour.

“It's almost a case of, ok, how do you get him off strike and try and break a partnership on the other side? And that doesn't necessarily always mean that you are taking a sort of negative option. I think that's a strategic option," he said.

“I think the off-spin is certainly an option to come up against him. From a left-hander's point of view, the off-spin of [Aiden] Markram is probably going to be a tactic that they'll try and use. But it's a tough one.

“Using the short ball might be an option from Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada's point of view, particularly with the big boundaries. So they'll certainly look and do their homework. That's certainly the opening where you can try and get players out early. So they'll try and target that and see what's the best option,” he added.