IND vs PAK T20 World Cup full squad comparison

As anticipation builds for the India vs Pakistan match at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 on February 15, here is a full comparison of both sides before the big match in Colombo.

India and Pakistan will face each other on 15th February in Colombo.

As the world gets ready for the India vs Pakistan match in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 on 15th February at the R. Premadasa stadium, the experts expect a massive shift for both nations. India, which has already beaten the USA and will face Namibia on 12th February will come into the match with huge expectations. Meantime, Pakistan has recently been occupied with off-field drama and on-field inconsistent performances.

How to watch the India vs Pakistan, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match online?

Cricket fans in India can watch the India vs Pakistan, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 match LIVE on Jio Hotstar, accessible via OTTPlay Premium.

Surya vs Salman: Who is ahead?

The most striking difference between the teams is in the leadership. Suryakumar Yadav, who has been very successful as a T20I captain for India, has a calmness in him which is perfect for the Men in Blue in pressure situations. Surya himself is back in form with the bat, and that makes him more dangerous as a leader.

On the other hand, Pakistan all-rounder Salman Ali Agha has had some ups and downs in his captaincy career so far, and is yet to be in his best form with the bat.

Read also: ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Squad of every nation.

Openers

It is quite definite that the Indian opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan is much more dangerous and fearless than the Pakistani opening pair of Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan.

But with Abhishek Sharma being ill, and considering the fact that he will have to recover well enough to face someone like Pakistan, the opening pair comparison might be at a balanced level. Moreover, Sahibzada Farhan scored a beautiful 73 against the USA, which will also give the Pakistani team some good confidence coming into the match.

For India, if Abhishek Sharma does not return to the playing 11, they will have to go with Sanju Samson, who did not have a great outing against New Zealand at home. But with the kind of experience Sanju brings, you never know when he could explode at the highest level of international cricket.

Read also: India vs Namibia T20 World Cup 2026: Will Bumrah and Abhishek Sharma play?

Middle and lower order

Now, this is somewhere India might be ahead of Pakistan because with Surya Kumar Yadav (number 3) or Tilak Varma at No. 4, India brings a mixed balance of stability and firepower during the middle overs. Not only that, if one of the openers gets out early, Surya has the capability to build an innings and also keep the momentum with some excellent shot-making decisions.

But for Pakistan, both Captain Salman Ali Agha and Babar Azam have found it hard to get going. Although Babar did get some runs, there is always a question about his striking ability in the middle order, which sometimes has pushed Pakistan’s run rate down the hill.

Read also: India vs Pakistan head-to-head in T20 World Cup history

Along with Surya and Tilak, Hardik Pandya, with his brutal power, and Rinku Singh, with his finishing capabilities, hand India a bigger upper hand over Pakistan. Not only that, Shivam Dube, who recently scored the second-fastest fifty for India in T20I cricket, can hit the long ball as well.

Axar Patel’s ability with the bat is well known to the whole world as well.

But Pakistan also has some good hitters down the order with Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, and Shadab Khan batting at 5, 6, and 7. Shadab did have a great outing against the USA. In the meantime, Faheem single-handedly won the match for Pakistan against the Netherlands in Colombo.

Read also: India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026: Date, time, venue, live streaming details.

Bowling unit

Now, this can be another area where we might find the comparison between India and Pakistan to be a bit 50/50. But with Jasprit Bumrah fit and fine for the India-Pakistan game, the balance might shift towards India.

India has someone like Arshdeep Singh, who has been a great wicket-taker with the new ball. And then they have the luxury of using Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya as the fifth bowler.

Even for Pakistan, the equation is the same as well. Usman Tariq, with his controversial bowling action, has been in tremendous form along with Shadab Khan, who has also shown great ability to bowl in the middle overs as well.

Shaheen Shah Afridi will always hold his worth as a top new-ball bowler, but Pakistan's main concern will be bowling at the death with India’s long batting order.

Squads

India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Md. Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh

Pakistan: Salman Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq.

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