Pakistan on Monday reversed their choice to boycott their T20 World Cup match in opposition to India, however rain might intervene.
Printed On 14 Feb 2026
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav mentioned his gamers usually are not involved about the specter of rain for Sunday’s Twenty20 World Cup clash with Pakistan, including that the defending champions are centered on making ready for the showdown between bitter rivals.
Pakistan had initially boycotted the Group A fixture in Colombo over Bangladesh’s removing from the match for refusing to play in India over safety considerations, however reversed their decision on Monday.
Beneficial Tales
record of 4 objectsfinish of record
However climate forecasts have warned of heavy rain between Sunday afternoon and night, casting new doubts over the match.
“Climate is one thing which isn’t in our management,” Suryakumar advised reporters on Saturday.
No complacency from India in opposition to Pakistan
He mentioned the conflict wouldn’t be a routine sport for the co-hosts.
“If you play an India vs Pakistan sport it’s extra concerning the event. It’s a massive platform, clearly. Irrespective of what number of occasions you say, it’s simply one other sport … It’s human tendency, you recognize which sport you’re about to play,” the 35-year-old mentioned.
“No matter we’ve got labored laborious on and practised, we attempt to execute them within the sport.”
India and Pakistan have each gained two video games every within the match. Whereas Pakistan performed each their video games in Colombo resulting from an settlement that they might play one another solely on impartial venues, India arrived after a win over Namibia on Thursday.
Suryakumar mentioned India wouldn’t be deprived by unfamiliarity with the bottom.
“We’ve got comparable wickets again dwelling, and we’ve performed a variety of cricket right here throughout bilaterals in opposition to Sri Lanka, so we’re additionally very acquainted with the circumstances,” he mentioned.
India and Pakistan most lately confronted off in final yr’s Asia Cup, the place India gained all three of their conferences, together with the ultimate.
“You may’t carry historical past into the bottom, as a result of it might trigger complacency,” Suryakumar mentioned.
India prepared for Pakistan’s ‘out of syllabus’ Tariq
India have carried out preparations to face Usman Tariq, a spinner with an unorthodox motion, who took three wickets for Pakistan throughout Tuesday’s win over the US.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha mentioned earlier on Saturday that Tariq was a trump card in opposition to India.
“At an examination, when there’s an out-of-syllabus query, we are able to’t simply skip it; we’ve got to strive one thing to sort out it,” Suryakumar mentioned about Tariq.
“We practise with comparable bowlers, with comparable actions. We’ll attempt to execute what we practise within the internet classes.”
Salman had additionally expressed hope that Indian opener Abhishek Sharma, who’s the highest-ranked batter within the 20-over format, will play on Sunday after lacking the earlier sport resulting from sickness.
“All proper, if (Salman) needs him to play, then we’ll play him tomorrow,” Suryakumar mentioned about Sharma.
