Why is Virat Kohli not playing vs Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2026 clash in Colombo?
Star batter Virat Kohli retired from T20Is after the World Cup win in 2024. Hence, he is no longer a part of the Indian team in the shortest format. After he retired, Suryakumar Yadav moved to number three, with Tilak Varma batting at number four.
To all the casual cricket fans, it’s with a heavy heart that we share that Virat Kohli retired from the T20 World Cup after the 2024 edition, which is why you won’t see him on the field tonight. The star batter now plays only ODIs and if everything goes to plan, he could feature in the 2027 ODI World Cup. Alongside Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja also stepped away from T20Is after India’s victory over South Africa in the 2024 tournament.
Their absence, however, hasn’t slowed India down in the shortest format. Led by Suryakumar Yadav, the Men in Blue have delivered outstanding performances, remaining unbeaten in bilateral series and registering the highest number of 200-plus totals in the shortest format.
India made two changes to playing XI
India made two changes to the playing XI for the game against Pakistan. Abhishek Sharma, who missed the match against Namibia owing to a stomach infection, returned to the playing XI, replacing Sanju Samson. India have also played an extra spinner in Kuldeep Yadav, who replaced Arshdeep Singh.
Pakistan opt to field first
Pakistan have won the toss and elected to field first in Colombo. Captain Salman Agha explained that the pitch is tacky in nature and will assist the bowlers.
“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. It's a big game. We all know that. But in our group we all are very, very relaxed now. And we're just focusing on the game and we're very excited for this challenge. Bigger ground than SSC and the pitch is slower than SSC,” Agha said.
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), 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, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq