While Sanju Samson's ouster was certain with the comeback of Abhishek Sharma, one got to feel for Arshdeep Singh, who is India's highest wicket-taker in T20Is but fails to make it to the playing XI tonight. Focussing more on the spin attack, India have roped in Kuldeep in replace of pacer Arshdeep.

"We want to bowl first. It looks a bit tacky, so we feel it will assist the bowlers for the first few overs so we want to use that. We are relaxed in our group and excited for this challenge. Bigger ground than SSC and the pitch is slower than SSC. Same team for us," said Pakistan captain Salman Agha.

"Not at all, we were looking to bat first. We won last two games defending so we don't want to change it. It is an occasion, it's a high-stake game. This sport teaches you a lot of things, any side can win the game on a given day. Two changes. Abhishek Sharma comes in and Kuldeep Yadav is in for Arshdeep Singh," said India captain Suryakumar Yadav.

India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.

Pakistan (Playing XI): Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan(w), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq.

It is to note that there was no customary handshake between captains of India and Pakistan. Both Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Agha didn't look towards each other during the toss.

Pakistan captain Salman Agha has won the toss and opted to bowl against India in their T20 World Cup Group A match at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo tonight.

Rohit Sharma, India's 2024 World Cup‑winning captain, was spotted giving a pep talk to the Indian players ahead of the match against Pakistan at the venue. We are set for the toss now. It will take place in just two minutes from now. Are you ready?

The sky looks a bit clearer now. The conditions are no longer as overcast as they were. These are really good signs with just 10 minutes left for the toss to take place. Keep your fingers crossed, folks!

We have 24 minutes left for the toss to take place. The conditions continue to remain cloudy, and it has stopped raining at the moment. It was just a slight drizzle, which should not cause any concern. Indian singer Hanumankind is currently entertaining the crowd with his performance on the edge of the ground.

It is currently drizzling in Colombo, with just over 30 minutes remaining before the toss. The forecast predicts a high chance of rain (around 49-63%) in the hour leading up to the 6:30 PM toss.

While Abhishek Sharma is certain to replace Sanju Samson in the playing XI, India is expected to make another tactical change by bringing in spinner Kuldeep Yadav for pacer Arshdeep Singh. In that scenario, Jasprit Bumrah will share fast-bowling duties with Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube.

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with his Pakistan counterpart, Salman Ali Agha, during the Asia Cup in 2025 following the Pahalgam terror attacks. Since then, Indian cricketers have maintained this stance during international competitions. As per various reports, the Indian team is set to maintain this stance during their T20 World Cup match in Colombo today as well.

India have not lost any T20I series or tournament they have played since their T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados in 2024. The side also maintained a clean sheet against Pakistan in the Asia Cup T20 last year, winning all three matches. In their most recent T20I series, Suryakumar Yadav and Co. outplayed New Zealand 4-1.

Pitch number four will be used for this high‑octane India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup Group A encounter tonight. If a right‑handed batter faces the Maligawatte End, the boundaries on the off side will become a bit longer. Point would be somewhere around 75m, with an additional four to five metres for the extra‑cover boundary. The leg side will be a bit shorter in this case, with square leg being around 68m and midwicket around 69m.

With just a few hours to go for the high-voltage India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match in Colombo, fans gather to support their favourite team.
NDTV's @Vimalsports speaks to the fans outside the stadium pic.twitter.com/hk2WLDaymi

— NDTV (@ndtv) February 15, 2026

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

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

"This ‘no shaking hands’ is such a silly thing that India has started. It’s unbecoming of a nation like ours. Either play properly within the spirit of the game or don’t play at all," Sanjay Manjrekar wrote on X.

This 'no shaking hands' is such a silly thing that India has started. It's unbecoming of a nation like ours. Either play properly within the spirit of the game or don't play at all.

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) February 15, 2026

This will be the first game for India outside their home in the ongoing T20 World Cup. On the other hand, Pakistan arrived in Colombo around half a month ago, but they too will be playing at the R Premadasa Stadium for the first time in this edition. The Salman Agha-led side played its previous two matches at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

Navjot Singh Sidhu heaped praise on India openers Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, while warning Pakistan about the impact the duo could make. "If these two stay for five overs, Pakistan ko jaan ke laale pad jayenge (Pakistan will have to fight for their lives)," said Sidhu on Star Sports.

There are some clouds over the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo at the moment, but the positive sign is that there is no rain. Let's hope it stays this way. Keep your fingers crossed, folks!

Usman Tariq has found himself at the centre of the build-up for the highly anticipated game game between India and Pakistan. Responding to a query regarding the spinner on the eve of the game, India captain Suryakumar Yadav came up with quite an honest response in the press conference. "Even if a question is out of syllabus you can't leave it. He's a different character but we can't surrender to him (Usman Tariq). We are all very excited," said Suryakumar.

Dark clouds of a possible washout are hovering over the contest. The weather forecast suggests that the chances of rain during the India vs Pakistan match are extremely high.

For a T20 contest to produce a result, a five-over-per-side contest is necessary. If this minimum requirement isn't fulfilled, the match will be abandoned. Such a situation would see both the teams sharing a point each as there is no 'Reserve Day' is in place for any of the group stage matches.

India and Pakistan have played a total of 16 T20I matches so far, with the defending champions winning 13 of them and losing just three. In T20 World Cup, India boast a dominating 7-1 record against their arch-rivals.

There is a lot of buzz around Usman Tariq, but former India captain Sourav Ganguly has termed him a regular off-spinner who releases the ball only after taking a pause in his delivery stride. "Nothing is difficult. He (Tariq) is an off-spinner, and he just bowls with a pause. He is an out-and-out off-spinner, and India will play him well," he told reporters on the eve of the India vs Pakistan match.

The condition at Colombo has become windy and overcast recently. The floodlights are reportedly on at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. However, crucially, there is no rain at the moment.

According to a report by The Indian Express, Suryakumar Yadav and the rest of the Indian team are not going to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts today. As per the report, the no-handshake policy will continue before the toss and after the game, continuing the precedent set in the Asia Cup 2025.

Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam will undoubtedly have several eyeballs on him. The veteran batter has struggled for form of late, although he showed glimpses of his best in a 32-ball 46 against USA in their previous match. But will he be able to perform on the big stage against India? Pak captain Salman Ali Agha appeared unbothered by Babar's lack of runs.

"Babar Azam is not a concern for us. He has been scoring runs. And hopefully he'll score runs and help us tomorrow. We don't want to change the batting position too much," Agha said.

Pakistan are likely to stick with their spin-heavy approach that has brought them success in Sri Lankan conditions so far. As many as FIVE spinners could be in action for them today, meaning Pakistan could realistically bowl 20 overs of spin. Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq are expected to lead the spin attack, while all-rounders Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan and Saim Ayub are likely to chip in.

Abhishek Sharma was confirmed to return to India's playing XI, while Kuldeep Yadav stands a major chance following Suryakumar Yadav's press conference hint and given the spin-friendly conditions at Colombo. Possibly, spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar could also be in contention to enter the team in place of Shivam Dube or Rinku Singh.

However, with rain expected to play spoilsport, India could even opt for a last-minute switch.

Suryakumar Yadav not only confirmed that Abhishek Sharma would play today, but also hinted that left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav is likely to feature too. At the pre-match press conference, SKY made a cheeky remark.

"Do you want him to play? Okay then he will play," said the Indian captain.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed in the press conference yesterday that star opener Abhishek Sharma will feature in the playing XI against Pakistan. Abhishek missed India's previous game against Namibia due to a stomach illness.

The winner of the match between India and Pakistan will clinch their berth in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2026. The loser, on the other hand, will need to win their final match to guarantee qualification. As a result, this match holds immense importance.

In visuals released from India's training session, India captain Suryakumar Yadav could be seen bowling with Usman Tariq's stop-start action in order to prepare the Indian batters. Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh could be seen facing SKY. 

Legendary India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin suggested prior to the match that India's batters should pull out from the ball in order to tackle Usman Tariq's stop-start action, citing that they are unable to anticipate the release of the delivery.

"If Tariq pauses before delivery, the batter has the right to move away. The batter can say, 'I don't know when the ball is coming, so I moved away'. I want to see who dares to do that," Ashwin said.

Undoubtedly, one of the major talking points heading into the game is Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq and his unorthodox stop-start action that has bamboozled batters recently. In 4 T20Is, Tariq has taken 11 wickets, dismantling Australia and the USA. However, his action has received widespread scrutiny, with several experts and fans questioning the legality of it. 

How the Indian batting unit deals with him today will be a fascinating prospect.

Here's a run-down of the events surrounding Pakistan's decision to boycott and then eventual U-turn ahead of their game against India:

- Pakistan boycott in support of Bangladesh, Pak government bars team from taking field against India

- Pak informed of potentially severe financial and sporting penalties by ICC

- PCB do not give ICC a formal reason for boycott, no grounds for Force Majeure

- Sri Lanka, UAE boards request Pak to play

- Pakistan, Bangladesh and ICC conduct meetings and "negotiations"

- Pak overturn boycott, but get multiple demands rejected by ICC, including intervention on India-Pak bilaterals

While there is a 13% chance of rain in the evening during the match, the probability of rain is much higher in the forecast before the game starts. However, at the moment there is no rain in Colombo. Let's hope it stays that way.

"India-Pakistan is just another game, because we are not here to beat Pakistan, we are hear to win," says India head coach Gautam Gambhir, in a snippet shown by the official broadcasters. A big statement!

Pakistan made a dramatic U-turn on their decision to boycott the match against India. Pakistan boycotted the match with a show of support for Bangladesh, who were replaced from the T20 World Cup for refusing to travel to India. 

However, Pakistan never formally informed the ICC their exact reason for a boycott, and soon learnt of the extensive financial and sporting penalties they could face if they went ahead with it. Then, after a few days of discussion between the PCB and the ICC, Pakistan's government overturned the boycott decision.

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha also provided a cryptic response when asked whether his team would shake hands if the Indian players are ready to do it. "We will find out tomorrow," said Agha in the press conference.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav appeared to downplay the 'handshake' matter in the press conference on Saturday, hinting that Team India's focus was not on the toss time ritual. 

"Now wait for 24 hours for that. Why put so much focus on that? We have come to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will take all those calls later tomorrow. Wait for it. Eat well and go to sleep," SKY said yesterday.

Suryakumar Yadav-led India refused to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts during the Asia Cup 2025 after the Pahalgam terror attacks, setting a precedent that has since taken place in every India-Pakistan cricket encounter since. But will today mark the first time the players of two sides shake hands? Well, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha have both remained tight-lipped about.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the T20 World Cup 2026 on NDTV Sports. It's the big day. India take on Pakistan in their Group A encounter in Colombo, and the stakes are massive, given the multitude of storylines heading into the game.

Stay tuned for all the live updates from the match.