Rohit Sharma has given a serious warning to the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian cricket team ahead of the biggest match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 against Pakistan. India will face R.K. in Colombo in their third Group A match on Sunday, 15 February. Will face Pakistan at Premadasa International Stadium.
India’s strong record against Pakistan
India are currently the No. 1 team in the world in T20I cricket and their record against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup is very strong. Out of eight matches, the Men in Blue have won seven against the Men in Green. They have also defeated Pakistan in their last five T20 matches.
This includes three wins in the Asia Cup last year and one win each in the 2022 and 2024 T20 World Cups. Looking at the record and form, many people feel that India will start as a strong team again, but ODI captain Rohit Sharma does not think so.
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Rohit Sharma rejects “favourite” tag ahead of India vs Pakistan clash
Rohit, who led India to the T20 World Cup title in 2024, has given a clear message before this big match. The former Indian captain said that nothing is certain in T20 cricket. He believes that there is no such thing as a “favorite” team in this format; It only matters how they play on match day.
“First of all, I never believed in the word ‘favourite’,” Rohit Sharma said at an event in Dubai. It’s a very fun game, and we’ve just seen it; A lot has happened in these last 10 years of international cricket. All these teams now have a lot of experience in playing T20 cricket.
You can’t just think that this is a two-point victory for us. To get those points you just have to play good cricket on that particular day; Otherwise, you may have to go home with nothing.”
Recollections of the shock of the 2021 T20 World Cup
Rohit also reminded everyone that India had already lost to Pakistan in the World Cup. The former Test and T20I captain was also a part of that squad as India lost by 10 wickets in the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai. He believed that whichever team gives its best performance on Sunday will win the game.
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He concluded, “So, it’s not about what you have done in the past; how is your team? Are the players in form or not? You just have to play well on that particular day because every team is capable of beating any team on that particular day.”
Rohit Sharma speaking about T20 cricket pic.twitter.com/ZOcrQBKQep
– 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐢𝐢⁴⁵ (@Rushiii_12) 11 February 2026
India is aware of the big challenge in Colombo!
Earlier, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted that there are challenges ahead of the big match against Pakistan. He further said, “It is going to be a challenge to go to Colombo, where Pakistan have been for the last two weeks, and our entire focus is on bringing our best game in that match next week.”
