Despite being one of the most sought-after players, particularly in white-ball cricket, Fakhar Zaman has failed to find a place in the high-voltage clash against India in the T20 World Cup 2026. Pakistan have trusted Babar Azam for the number four role and even though he has failed to live up to the potential, the team management is in no mood to change the playing XI.
Notably, Fakhar has played 117 T20Is in his career, scoring 2385 runs at a strike rate of 130.75. In the 2017 Champions Trophy, he played the vital cog, scoring a scintillating century to win the game for the Men in Green. Yet, given his previous noteworthy performances against India, Pakistan chose to sit him out.
Ishan Kishan dominates Pakistan
Batting first, India have produced a stunning show, scoring a 27-ball half-century. Despite losing his opening partner,Abhishek Sharma early, Kishan didn’t change the tempo and continued with his blistering strokes. Tilak Varma, who came out to bat at number three, only had one job and was to give strike to Kishan. He took care of the business as India are on course to score over 200 runs.
Meanwhile, the captains of India and Pakistan didn’t shake hands ahead of the match. Suryakumar, ahead of the match, hinted at the same. The Men in Blue, in the meantime, have made two changes to the playing XI, with Abhishek Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav coming to the squad, replacing Sanju Samson and Arshdeep Singh, respectively.
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
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