On February 15, 2026, the hosts of the T20 World Cup 2026 will lock horns with Pakistan at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, with the first ball bowled at 7:00 PM. Gautam Gambhir, 44, Indian team head coach, and captain Suryakumar Yadav have been intensely debating Team India’s T20 World Cup playing XI, particularly the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Gambhir emphasizes spin, while SKY wants authority to select a pace-heavy bowling attack. There’s no debate over the opening pair, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma are the perfect combo to rock the shortest format. Cut to Sanju Samson’s poor form, It remains a major concern for the Indian team, as the right hand wicketkeeper batsman failed to impress the management during the recent New Zealand series.
Possible Team India Playing 11 against Pakistan
On one hand, Suryakumar Yadav led Team India will work to defend their title while the Men in Green will aim to forget the 2024 campaign and start the tournament with renewed energy. Here’s Team India playing 11 vs Pakistan for the highly anticipated match:
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Abhishek Sharma | Opening Batter🏏 |
| Ishan Kishan (wk) | Wicketkeeper-Batter🏏 |
| Tilak Varma | Top-Order Batter🏏 |
| Suryakumar Yadav © | Middle-Order Batter (Captain)🏏 |
| Shivam Dube | Middle-Order Batter/All-Rounder🏏🥎 |
| Hardik Pandya | All-Rounder🏏🥎 |
| Axar Patel | All-Rounder🏏🥎 |
| Harshit Rana/Rinku Singh | Pace Bowler (Rana)🥎/Finisher Batter (Rinku)🏏 |
| Varun Chakravarthy | Leg-Spinner🥎 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Lead Pacer🥎 |
| Arshdeep Singh | Death-Over Specialist🥎 |
In order to win any match on field it’s important to find the right combination that can finish the job. For the India- Pakistan clash, a top order dominated by left handers will help the Indian side tackle the Pakistani pacers especially in the power play.
Abhishek Sharma’s ability to get going right from the first ball has changed the fate of the Indian side in recent years. Considering Ishan’s recent form, promoting him as an opener in the T20I World Cup will add to the destructive form of batting.
Even though Tilak Varma has not been declared fully fit yet, his batting will add stability to India’s batting order. The middle order including Suryakumar Yadav along with best finishers in T20Is Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya will keep the scoreboard going in the middle overs especially in tackling the Pakistani spinners.
All rounders play a crucial role in the shortest format of the game. Thus having at least three all rounders will strengthen the playing XI.
The pace duo of Bumrah and Arshdeep rattled the opposition’s batting order in the 2024 edition of the World Cup, especially when India successfully defended 120 runs against Pakistan. This time as well, the duo will be expected to repeat the heroics this time as well.
World No.1 bowler Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel will take care of the spin department. India will have a total of 6-7 bowling options ideal for the T20I set-up. At the same time batting depth is also important thus, India will look to have batters until no.7.
In the last five T20I encounters between India and Pakistan, the Men in Blue have won all five of them. The latest three wins came in the recent Asia Cup 2025 including the final match. The other two wins include the 2024 and 2022 T20I World Cup clashes.
READ MORE: India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 Tickets LIVE, Price, and How to Buy
