India are yet to lose a bilateral series or a tournament under Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy. They defeated Pakistan thrice in the Asia Cup last year, eventually winning the competition as well. While the majority of Indian players possess the ability to win the game for the team on their day, all eyes will be on their combination for the game against Pakistan. Despite their incredible recent record in the T20I format, India might not be considered as clear favourites for the much-awaited clash against Pakistan.

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Decoding India's concerns ahead of Pakistan game in T20 World Cup 2026

Struggle against spin and variations

India have witnessed batting collapses in both of their first two games against the USA and Namibia. In the first game, the USA bowlers ran through the Indian top order on the back of excellent variations, especially in the change in pace. The Men in Blue lost three out of their nine wickets to spin as well. On the other hand, the middle-order looked clueless in the second game against Namibia.

Batters had no answers to the variations, as Gerhard Erasmus and Bernard Scholtz collectively got the better of five players. Interestingly, Indian batters couldn't comfortably pick Erasmus, who was continuously displaying some experiments with the change in his action and the release of the ball.

Pakistan playing in Colombo

Pakistan have done well to adjust to the conditions in Colombo so far. Despite a few concerns, they got over the line in their first two matches. Playing all of their matches of the tournament in Colombo has given them an upper hand, and it could well turn out to be a huge advantage for the match against India as well.

This will be India's only group game in Colombo, having played their matches in different conditions at home so far. They will have to come up with outstanding preparation to tackle the challenge posed by the Pakistani bowlers.

Pakistan's match-winning spinners

Pakistan have an incredible pack of spinners in their lineup. They took six wickets in the first game against the Netherlands before sending back seven USA batters to the pavilion in the second game.

The conditions in Colombo are perfectly suitable for the likes of Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan and Usman Tariq to challenge the Indian batters. Interestingly, the skipper, Salman Ali Agha, could also roll his arms over in case of any need.

Usman Tariq's mystery

India might have had a dominating record against Pakistan, but they will face something interesting this time around. While Abrar Ahmed has done well against the Men in Blue, Usman Tariq is all set to join him and create immense problems for the batters, especially in the middle overs. There has been a massive hype created around Usman Tariq due to his controversial action.

The recent talks around Tariq might put pressure on the Indian batters and create doubt in their minds while they come out to face him in the middle.

Massive controversy ahead of tournament

The ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 witnessed massive controversy in the build-up, with Pakistan announcing the boycott of the India match. PCB and BCB's stand-off against the ICC created uncertainty over the India vs Pakistan for weeks. However, after continuous negotiations, all the parties reached a mutual decision, and the match was given the nod. The sequence of events will surely put extra pressure on the players of both teams, with the interest of fans also playing a key role. A disappointing performance due to the fear of failure cannot be ruled out. 

Team combination headache

All eyes will also be on India's combination as well. Abhishek Sharma's participation is still uncertain, with the star opener recovering from an illness. His absence could be a huge blow for the Indian team, considering Sanju Samson's disappointing form, who will likely be replacing him.

There is also a possibility of India going with the winning combination.