Pakistan isn’t just hoping for a victory. On February 15, they want to go out there and boss India in Colombo. Now that all the boycott talk has ended, the focus has shifted to cricket. On playing combinations, the pitch, and tactics.
After losing 0-3 to India in the 2025 Asia Cup, you’d think Pakistan would just want to get across the line against India. But that’s not what the Men in Green want. Pakistan’s captain, Salman Ali Agha, wants India to field their best XI against them, one that features Abhishek Sharma.
Pakistan ready for the Abhishek Sharma challenge
The left-handed opener has been the world’s best batter for some time now. Abhishek possesses the ability to end matches in the powerplay itself. Pakistan got a taste of this in the Asia Cup. But the 25-year-old has been dealing with health issues.
He had a high fever, 103, when playing against the USA on February 7. He was later admitted to hospital due to a stomach infection, lost a bit of weight, and had to miss the Namibia match on February 12.
Abhishek is expected to be fit for the India vs Pakistan match. Ideally, Agha would like for him to miss the game, since it’ll improve Pakistan’s chance of victory, but he doesn’t want to win like that. Pakistan wants to play against the best possible Indian unit, even if that means losing.
“I hope Abhishek Sharma plays tomorrow. I hope he is recovering well. We want to play against the best,” Agha told reporters on the eve of the game.
Pakistan has been in Colombo for nearly two weeks now. They’ll hold one final practice session at the R. Premadasa Stadium from 2 to 5 PM IST. After their training ends, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav will address the media at 5:30 PM IST, and India will hold their last training session from 6 to 9 PM IST.
