Team India is all set to lock horns with arch-rivals, Pakistan, in the T20 World Cup 2026 match on February 15 at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. Ahead of the match, legendary Team India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar feels that star spinner Kuldeep Yadav can come in place of pacer Arshdeep Singh for the high-octane clash against the "Green Shirts". In Team India's recent match against Namibia, Arshdeep bowled three overs and picked up one wicket by conceding 36 runs. Considering that the pacer didn't complete his quota of overs, Gavaskar feels that it is an indication of his not making an appearance in Colombo. "All our bowlers picked up wickets. Arshdeep did not complete his four overs, while Shivam Dube bowled two and Hardik completed his quota. This hints that Kuldeep Yadav could replace Arshdeep against Pakistan," he said. The former cricketer also feels Kuldeep should be picked in India's playing XI as the Sri Lankan pitches provide help to the spinners. "Sri Lanka pitches help spinners and India have history of playing three spinners. Expect Kuldeep in the XI against Pakistan in Colombo," said the 76-year-old former cricketer. He also heaped praise on mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy by saying he picks wickets whenever he comes in to bowl. "Hardik bowling the first over suggests Arshdeep may not play in the next match against Pakistan. Varun Chakaravarthy bowled only two overs and would have taken five or six wickets if he bowled his full four overs. The best part about Varun is that he gets wickets whenever he is asked to bowl. Axar Patel took two wickets in three overs, it's a good sign," said Gavaskar. T20 World Cup 2026, IND vs PAK: Full Squads India: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan (WK), Rinku Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Abhishek Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Tilak Varma. Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Babar Azam, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha (C), Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan (WK), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Khawaja Nafay (WK), Usman Tariq. (With PTI Inputs)
13 February,2026 05:11 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIn the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, Team India's star wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan is enjoying a rich vein of form. So far, the "Men in Blue" have registered two victories in as many matches. They will now lock horns against arch-rivals, Pakistan, in their upcoming fixture. Speaking about the success in his batting, the left-handed batsman said that the entire team gained a lot of confidence and learned a lot from the series before the global showpiece. "100 per cent getting runs is always a good thing for batters, and we have been doing well from the previous series as well, when we were playing against New Zealand. So all these matches that we played, there was a lot of learning, a lot of confidence which we gained from those matches," he said. Speaking about the Pakistan clash, Kishan said that Team India will assess the pitch on the match day and will play according to the conditions. "Pakistan clash, obviously, it would be a special one for everyone. So we're not just thinking so much about the future game. But yeah, once we get there, we look at the wicket, and we have an idea of what sort of match is going to happen and what will be a good total, and we'll just play accordingly," said the 27-year-old cricketer. The T20 World Cup 2026 match between arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, is scheduled to be played on February 15 at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. Currently, Team India is placed at the top spot in Group A with a net run rate (NRR) of +3.050 and four points. On the other hand, Pakistan is placed in the second position with a net run rate (NRR) of +0.932 and four points. T20 World Cup 2026, IND vs PAK: Full Squads India: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan (WK), Rinku Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Abhishek Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Tilak Varma. Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Babar Azam, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha (C), Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan (WK), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Khawaja Nafay (WK), Usman Tariq. (With ANI Inputs)
13 February,2026 04:06 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentItaly batted, bowled and fielded brilliantly, outclassing Nepal in every department, to register their first-ever T20 World Cup win, a 10-wicket victory with 44 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. They first put Nepal in and dismissed them for just 123 in 19.3 overs, thanks mainly to leg-spinner Crishan Kalugamage (3-18) and off-spinner Ben Manenti (2-9). A couple of sharp throws from the Italians also resulted in two run outs. Harry Manenti Then, Italy’s opening pair, the Mosca brothers — Justin, 31, and Anthony, 34, — played vital roles in the chase, which was achieved with 44 balls to spare. Left-hander Justin (44-ball 60 not out) and right-hander Anthony (32-ball 62 not out) never looked in trouble as they rotated the strike well and also went for the big hits. Italy’s stand-in skipper Harry Manenti revealed that his team was always confident of doing well. “When we qualified, that was obviously a special moment, but our goal was always to compete at this level and compete in this top competition, and we showed that today. We showed the world what we’ve got,” said Manenti. Italy head coach John Davison, who represented Canada in 32 ODIs and five T20Is, said: “This will be front-page news in a lot of countries and a lot of publications in Italy. We’ll probably knock the Winter Olympics [currently on in Milano-Cortina, Italy] coverage to the back pages.” 124No. of runs put on by Justin Mosca and Anthony Mosca — the highest partnership for any wicket by a pair of brothers in a T20 World Cup Brief scoresNepal 123 all out in 19.3 overs (A Sheikh 27; C Kalugamage 3-18, B Manenti 2-9) lost to Italy 124-0 in 12.4 overs (A Mosca 62*, J Mosca 60*) by 10 wickets
13 February,2026 12:07 PM IST | Mumbai | Subodh MayureIndia women’s cricketers Jemimah Rodrigues, Shreyanka Patil and, Arundhati Reddy are busy soaking in the sights and sounds that Sydney has to offer, ahead of their all-format series against Australia which begins on February 15. The troika Instagrammed these pictures on Wednesday and Thursday from their visit to some of the Australian city’s most iconic landmarks, particularly the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The posts received nearly four lakh ‘likes’ combined.
13 February,2026 09:19 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentShardashram Vidyamandir International School (Dadar) outclassed defending champions Parag English School (Bhandup) by eight wickets to clinch the girls U-16 Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) Manoramaben Apte inter-school cricket title at the MCA-BKC ground on Thursday. Opting to bat, Parag English posted a competitive 173-3 in their allotted 22 overs, riding on two solid half-tons from Vedika Nikam (87 off 60 balls), and Tanisha Sharma (56 off 52). Shardashram’s bowlers worked hard to contain the flow of runs on a batting-friendly surface, with Vaidai Tanavade (1-46), and Kartika Poojary (1-52) picking a wicket each. In the face of a stiff target, Ria Thakur anchored the Dadar outfit’s innings with a composed 80 off 73, while Aashira Patil played the aggressor’s role with a fluent 53-ball 79. The duo stitched a 155-run partnership that helped the Dadar outfit seal the contest in 21.4 overs.
13 February,2026 09:11 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamWhile some of the minnow teams are normally known to spring surprises in big ticket events like World Cups, in the context of the ongoing T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, it’s the fans of a minnow team, who have stunned many with their presence in large numbers. Team Nepal’s fans took over the Wankhede Stadium once again on Thursday, during the match against Italy. Some 13,000-plus spectators filled up the Mumbai venue and almost all of them were Nepal supporters. In Nepal’s previous match against England last Sunday there were even bigger numbers, some 17,000-plus. And just like during the match against England, the stadium reverberated with “Nepal, Nepal,” during the team’s batting performance in the afternoon. However, though the excitement and celebrations in the stands continued in the second innings of that England match, which Nepal lost narrowly, this time the second innings witnessed a deathly silence among the fans as Nepal lost by an embarrassing 10-wicket margin. Interestingly however, though the fans were visibly upset with their team, they still waited back to watch Italy opener Anthony Mosca (62 not out) take the final winning single.
13 February,2026 08:51 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh MayureSkipper Mitchell Marsh's fitness will be watched closely as an injury-hit Australia try to ward off a tricky Zimbabwe and move closer to the Super Eights in a Group B match of the T20 World Cup here on Friday. Marsh missed his side's big win over Ireland on Wednesday with an internal testicular bleeding and, according to Cricket Australia, the all-rounder will require a considerable period of rest before returning to action. Steve Smith has joined the squad as his cover, but the absence of Marsh did not feel in Australia's 67-run romp here as they produced an all-round effort against the Irish. Without any of the batters making a fifty, they posted a strong 180-plus total before pacer Nathan Ellis and leg-spinner Adam Zampa shared eight wickets among them to give their side two full points. But the Aussies would like to better that effort against Zimbabwe, with some heavy runs from opener Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell in the middle-over. It's a pre-requisite for the Aussies if Marsh indeed is going to be absent partially or even fully for the rest of this ICC showpiece. But Smith's T20 form of late will solace the Antipodeans. The former skipper, whose last T20I was in February 2024, was in roaring form for Sydney Sixers in the recent Big Bash League, plundering 299 runs in just six innings at an average of 59 and at a strike-rate of 167. The Aussies will require their big guns in fine fettle against Zimbabwe, who have the wherewithal to surprise fancied teams. Oman might not be a leading team, but the efficient manner in which the African outfit dismantled them was an eye-opener. They have pacers like Brad Evans, Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava who can test the strongest on their day. Sikandar Raza's mixed bag of off and leg breaks adds another dimension to their attack. Raza, a vastly experienced T20 player, will have to do his bit in batting as well along with Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, and the 40-year-old Brendan Taylor, though he is nursing a niggle from the last match. If he is not available then, they can ponder over bringing in Ryan Burl, who can also provide another handy spin option. Considering Australia's well-documented dislike against spin, they can also bring in another veteran Graeme Creamer, whose leg-spin could be handy here. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 February,2026 08:36 AM IST | Colombo | PTIBangladesh Cricket Board chief Aminul Islam says he will be in Colombo to watch the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup clash on Sunday where he expects to break ice with the BCCI after tense exchanges over the past few weeks. Speaking to Bangladesh newspaper 'Pratham Alo', Islam said the invitation for the high-profile game has come from the ICC. "The ICC has taken a decision. The major stakeholders of the ICC are these five Asian countries and for the India-Pakistan World Cup match on the 15th, they want representatives of all five Asian countries to be present at the ground together, watch the match together and talk to one another," Islam said. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan form the Asian block in the world body. Asked if the meet could be an opportunity to end tensions with the BCCI, Islam said, "You can consider it as something like that." The BCCI-BCB strife started after the Indian Board ordered the release of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders for unspecified "developments all around." It was widely speculated that the move was triggered by political violence in Bangladesh in which Hindus have been targeted. Bangladesh responded by refusing to travel to India for their World Cup matches citing security worries. However, the ICC, led by former BCCI secretary Jay Shah, rejected their concerns, describing the threat perception as low to moderate after its own assessment. Bangladesh were eventually replaced by Scotland in the tournament after refusing to budge from their position despite lengthy discussions with the world body. Their omission led to the Pakistan government announcing a boycott of the game against India as an expression of solidarity with Bangladesh. But the impasse was resolved after the BCB and the Sri Lankan government persuaded Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to withdraw the call. Following another round of discussions, the ICC decided not to penalise BCB for its previous stance and also allotted one ICC event to Bangladesh in the 2028-2031 cycle. Islam said the board will prepare a Memorandum of Understanding to ensure that the assurances are cast in stone. "We will also enter into an agreement. The agreement will be line by line, an MoU-type document, so that there is no uncertainty," said Islam. "You know that earlier when we held the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Annual General Meeting in Dhaka, a similar issue arose. There as well, we prepared a MoU-type document so that no one could ever deviate from the contract in any way. "Similar discussions (regarding preparing the MoU) with the ICC are more or less finalised," he added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 February,2026 08:32 AM IST | Dhaka | PTIWest Indies (WI) captain Shai Hope reckoned Sherfane Rutherford as a special batsman. Rutherford’s 42-ball 76 not out helped WI outclassed England by 30 runs in their T20 World Cup encounter at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. Rutherford has scored just five half-centuries in 48 T20Is with an average of 22.14. However, Hope insists not to go only by Rutherford’s stats as the left-hander is an ‘impact player.’ WI skipper Shai Hope “You just watch him [Rutherford] and see how special he is. We have to throw stats out the window every now and again. You can just look at a player and see what impact he has on a team. If you ask any bowler in world cricket, if they see Sherfane at the next end, they’re going to always feel they’re under pressure,” Hope said during the post-match press conference on Wednesday. All-rounder Roston Chase (34 runs and 2-29) was not part of the WI playing XI in the previous game against Scotland, which they won by 35 runs. However, the off-spinner played a crucial role against England. Hope said: “It was a tactical change. He’s [Chase] one of those players who can come in at any moment in time. We saw he was very crucial with the bat as well. He gave us some stability.” Hope admitted that playing at Wankhede Stadium gives a different energy to his team. In the 2016 T20 World Cup, current WI head coach Daren Sammy’s WI team beat England by six wickets at the same ground. “It’s one of those grounds that when you come here you just feel like playing cricket. I can say the same for most of the venues in India, but something about Wankhede, it just brings a different vibe, different energy,” Hope remarked. Meanwhile, England’s inability to counter spin was exposed again as they lost six batters to WI’s spinners — Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie (3-33), Chase (2-29) and Akeal Hosein (1-32). 2016The year West Indies last faced England in a T20 World Cup match at Wankhede. The Caribbeans won by six wickets OneWI’s position in Group C after their win over England 5No. of half-centuries for WI’s Sherfane Rutherford across 48 T20Is 180.95Sherfane Rutherford’s strike-rate against England on Wednesday
13 February,2026 08:25 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh MayureBlazing fifties by Pavan Rathnayake and skipper Dasun Shanaka along with Kusal Mendis' assured half-century helped Sri Lanka register a statement 105-run win over Oman in their T20 World Cup Group B clash, here on Thursday. Rathnayake (60 from 28 balls) and skipper Dasun Shanaka (50; 20b) returned to form, while Kusal (61; 45b) anchored the innings with successive World Cup half-century as Sri Lanka piled up 225/5 -- their second highest in T20 World Cup and the highest score of this tournament so far -- after Oman opted to bowl. Oman's chase never quite recovered from early setbacks as they wilted under scoreboard pressure to be restricted to 120/9. Skipper Jatinder Singh was cleaned up by Dushmantha Chameera in the first over, and Aamir Kaleem and Hammad Mirza soon followed with single-digit scores as Oman slipped to 36/3 inside the power play. Chameera (2/19) struck twice with the new ball, while spinner Maheesh Theekshana was tidy and incisive, returning figures of 2/11 from his full quota of four overs. There was brief entertainment when Wasim Ali counter-attacked Dushan Hemantha, clubbing the leg-spinner for two sixes in a row -- one over deep midwicket and another forward square leg -- lifting Oman to 75/3 in 11 overs. But the recovery was short-lived as they crashed to 91/6, losing three wickets in six balls. Theekshana triggered the collapse by dismissing the fluent looking Wasim for 27 (20 balls; 3x6), caught by Kusal. A direct hit from Kamil Mishara at deep point ran out Vinayak Shukla the very next ball, and Jiten Ramanandi was brilliantly stumped by Kusal for a golden duck. Mohammad Nadeem, back after missing the opener, waged a lone battle with a valiant fifty, as the 43-year-old hit his third T20I fifty in 71 appearances. The 2014 champions now have two wins from as many matches, topping Group B, ahead of Australia and Zimbabwe, who have one win each. After a poor World Cup debut against Ireland where he fell for sloppy upper cut for 5, Rathnayake made amends in style smashing eight fours and one six en route to his maiden fifty that came off just 24 balls. In the process he overtook his previous best of 40 at this venue earlier this month. The 23-year-old charged pacer Ramanandi for the innings' first six in the 12th over and hammered Sufyan Mehmood for three successive fours to reach the milestone. Rathnayake and the experienced Kusal added 94 runs off just 52 balls, maintaining a run-rate in excess of nine through the middle overs. They rotated strike smartly as 40 of Sri Lanka's 96 runs at the halfway mark came in singles and twos. Kusal, playing the senior partner's role to perfection, capitalised on width from the Oman spinners and struck seven fours in his 61 off 45 balls, his second successive fifty and 19th overall. He was run out in the penultimate over. Shanaka, who had endured a lean build-up to the tournament with scores of 1, 4 and 0, exploded at the death with a 19-ball fifty -- the fastest by a Sri Lankan in the T20 World Cup. He took on Nadeem Khan with a boundary and back-to-back sixes, and then smashed Sufyan Mehmood for successive sixes to reach the landmark. Shanaka and Mendis fell off consecutive deliveries in the 19th over, briefly slowing the charge. But Kamindu Mendis (19 not out; 7 balls) ended with a flourish, hitting Shah Faisal for two sixes in a row as the co-hosts scored 65 runs in the last four overs to post the highest total of this edition so far. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 February,2026 08:22 AM IST | Pallekele | PTIWithout being anywhere near their absolute best, India packed far too many guns for Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday night. A strange batting display headlined by bruising half-centuries from Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya helped tide over two collapses at different stages of the innings, the first triggered by Gerhard Erasmus, the captain who had invited India to make first use of an initially tacky surface. Despite also losing five for four in 11 deliveries at the very end, India put up 209-9 when so much more appeared on the cards following Kishan’s pyrotechnics which brought up the team hundred in a mere 6.5 overs. Jasprit Bumrah predictably took his place in the side at the expense of Mohammed Siraj, but Suryakumar Yadav opted to open the defence of that total through Pandya and Arshdeep Singh. Openers Louren Steenkamp and Jan Frylinck chanced their arm, and Erasmus backed up career-best figures of four for 20 with successive sixes off Axar Patel, but Namibia ran out of steam once Varun Chakravarthy was introduced in the eighth over. Varun Chakravarthy (below) celebrates with wicket of Namibia’s JJ Smit. Pic/AFP Handily placed at 67-1 after seven overs, Namibia unravelled spectacularly after the leg-spinner cleaned up Steenkamp with a googly first up. Chakravarthy broke the Namibian chase with 3-7 in two overs.. India surged to their second successive win in the T20 World Cup, by 93 runs after Namibia were shot out for 116, setting the stage for a blockbuster Sunday showdown in Colombo with Pakistan. Earlier, Kishan watched Sanju Samson tee off with three sixes in the second over from Ben Shikongo before being dismissed off the final ball. 86-1No. of runs scored by India in the first six overs — their highest-ever Powerplay score in a T20 World Cup 6.5No. of overs taken by India to reach 100 — their fastest team century in a T20 World Cup 93India’s victory margin against Namibia in New Delhi on Thursday — their biggest (by runs) in T20 World Cup
13 February,2026 08:21 AM IST | New Delhi | R KaushikADVERTISEMENT
