While India now shift their focus to the T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal against England on March 5, the Men in Blue will need to be wary of Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder Will Jacks, who can pose a serious threat to the co-hosts in the rematch of last edition’s semis. The England cricketer has been enjoying a tremendous campaign at the ICC event and can prove to be pivotal in determining India’s ambitions of qualifying for the final and becoming the first team in history to successfully defend the T20 World Cup title.
Let’s see why the Will Jacks factor can be a challenging territory that India would want to be fully prepared for.
The 27-year-old boasts of the best numbers across the top all-rounders in the T20 World Cup 2026. In seven games, Will Jacks has smashed 191 runs at an aggressive strike rate of 176.85 while also snaring seven wickets with the ball.
India’s Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube follow the Mumbai Indians star closely with 171 and 166 runs along with six and five wickets respectively.
Jacks’ impact can be realised from the fact that no other batter has scored more runs at the death than him in the tournament (162), while he has the most runs by any batter outside of the top four.
| Player | Matches | Runs | Sixes | SR | Wickets | Econ |
| Will Jacks | 7 | 191 | 12 | 176.85 | 7 | 9.68 |
| Hardik Pandya | 7 | 171 | 12 | 156.36 | 6 | 8.68 |
| Shivam Dube | 7 | 166 | 11 | 156.60 | 5 | 11.20 |
| Axar Patel | 5 | 14 | 0 | 127.27 | 7 | 7.52 |
| Sam Curran | 5 | 149 | 8 | 119.20 | 6 | 8.60 |
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Will Jacks has so far won four player of the match awards for his heroics against Nepal, Italy, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Notably, this is the highest number of POTM awards achieved by a single player in an edition of the T20 World Cup.
Only former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson have managed to achieve the feat back in 2012.
Will Jacks have single-handedly produced match-winning performances and been one of the key propellers of the England side, which have not always managed to click in the T20 World Cup 2026. Jacks has repeatedly dug England out of tricky situations, living up to the finisher’s role while also delivering in his duties of sixth bowler.
He capped off the group stages with impactful knocks of 39* and 53*against Nepal and Italy. He continued delivering in the Super 8s, triggering a sensational Sri Lanka collapse in the first game, finishing with figures of 3/22.
Next, he played the central role and was the chief architect of England’s four-wicket win over New Zealand in their final Super 8 game. With England reeling at 117/6, he formed a crucial 44-run stand with Rehan Ahmed and finished on unbeaten 32* off 18 balls to take his side over the finishing line.
Interestingly, Will Jacks have never faced India in international cricket but the Indian management will need to be on top of their strategies to neutralise him, given his recent displays.
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