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In the T20 World Cup 2026 match, Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl. Suryakumar Yadav ignored Salman Ali Agha after the toss and moved ahead without shaking hands.
Team India captain Suryakumar Yadav continued the ‘no handshake’ policy with Pakistan in the IND vs PAK T20 World Cup 2026 game in Colombo. On 15 February, SKY ignored Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha after the toss and moved ahead without shaking hands with the Pakistan skipper to give his post-toss interview to Pommie Mbangwa at the R Premadasa Stadium in Sri Lanka.
Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first in the T20 World Cup 2026 match in Colombo. Captain Salman Agha said the surface looked slightly tacky and likely to help bowlers in the early overs. He added that the team felt calm, focused and ready for the challenge.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav explained that his side had preferred to bat first. He noted that India had won their previous two matches at the venue while batting first. He said there was no need to change a successful approach.
Pakistan’s playing XI include Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi, among others.
India are fielding a strong lineup, with Abhishek Sharma returning to the team after having recovered from injury. Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah are there. India have decided to include an extra spinner, Kuldeep Yadav, in place of Arshdeep Singh.
Pitch report
Harbhajan Singh and Parthiv Patel assessed the pitch from the ground. Harbhajan said the surface looked hard, well-rolled and similar to the one where Zimbabwe beat Australia earlier. However, he mentioned that the ZIM vs AUS match had been played in daylight.
Because this is a night game, he expects better batting conditions and the possibility of a high-scoring contest. He added that spinners should become important as the pitch slows later in the match.
Singh also noted that the venue's large boundaries could make big hits harder. He placed greater value on timing and placement for batters overall.
Patel predicted India would make around 170-180 after batting first. Interestingly, an India-Pakistan T20 match has never crossed 160 so far.
Pakistan Playing XI
Pakistan are playing an unchanged squad:
Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (C), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (WK), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq.
India Playing XI
India have made two changes:
Abhishek Sharma (In for Sanju Samson), Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav (In for Arshdeep Singh), Varun Chakaravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah.
English (US) ·