India cricket team will be aiming to field their best playing XI when they take on Pakistan in their third game of the T20 World Cup 2026 on February 15. Suryakumar Yadav and co. have picked up two victories on the trot, having beaten the USA and Namibia in their first two matches. The IND vs PAK clash will see Abhishek Sharma return to the top of the order, which means Sanju Samson will return to warming the bench. India are expected to make some more changes to their playing XI for the contest in Colombo.
Predicted India playing XI vs Pakistan
| Position | Player | Role |
| 1. | Abhishek Sharma | Opener |
| 2. | Ishan Kishan | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| 3. | Suryakumar Yadav (C) | Batter |
| 4. | Tilak Varma | Batter |
| 5. | Shivam Dube | All-rounder |
| 6. | Hardik Pandya | All-rounder |
| 7. | Axar Patel | All-rounder |
| 8. | Washington Sundar | All-rounder |
| 9. | Jasprit Bumrah | Pacer |
| 10. | Arshdeep Singh | Pacer |
| 11. | Varun Chakravarthy | Spinner |
Abhishek will return to the playing XI after missing the clash against Namibia. The explosive opener was under the weather in the game against USA in Mumbai following which he was hospitalized due to a stomach infection. His return to the playing XI will mean Samson will be excluded from the line-up for the contest against Pakistan. India will continue to persist with Ishan Kishan at the top of the order, given his red-hot form. This leaves no space from Sanju in the playing XI as the Jharkhand star will keep wickets as well.
India will want to exploit the spin-friendly conditions in Colombo and are expected to add an extra spinner in the form of Washington Sundar to their line-up. The all-rounder’s inclusion will result in Rinku Singh likely to warm the bench. The Men in Blue are expected to go with three spinners in the form of Varun, Axar and Sundar, which means Kuldeep Yadav will continue to sit out. Suryakumar Yadav and co. will unleash their best pacer duo of Bumrah and Arshdeep against Pakistan while Hardik will play the third fiddle along with part-timer Dube.
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