The India cricket team has made two changes for the India vs Pakistan match in the T20 World Cup 2026. Playing in the spin-friendly conditions at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Team India has opted for two frontline spinners.
Arshdeep Singh rested
Abhishek Sharma, who missed the Namibia match due to a high fever and a stomach bug, has returned. This means Sanju Samson will warm the bench. The other change is Kuldeep Yadav coming in for Arshdeep Singh. The left-arm wrist spinner hasn’t featured for India yet. Considering the conditions in Colombo, Kuldeep has been included for left-arm pacer Arshdeep.
“Two changes. Abhishek Sharma comes in, and Kuldeep Yadav is in for Arshdeep Singh,” India captain Suryakumar Yadav said after losing the toss and getting put in to bat first.
Asked about batting first, Suryakumar stated that India wanted to defend. They’d done the same against the USA and Namibia, and don’t find any issues with setting a target. “Not at all, we were looking to bat first. We won the last two games defending, so we don’t want to change it,” he said.
Lastly, asked about whether there’s any pressure on the team for the India vs Pakistan match, Suryakumar didn’t shy away from saying that the game holds significant importance. “It is an occasion; it’s a high-stakes game. This sport teaches you a lot of things. Any side can win the game on a given day,” stated Surya.
India Playing XI vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2026
Ishan Kishan (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel (vc), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Bench: Mohammed Siraj, Sanju Samsom, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh
Cricket
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