T20 WC, India vs Pakistan | Abhishek v Shaheen, Bumrah v Farhan — 5 Key Matchups

T20 World Cup 2026: The outcome of the game could be decided by the sum of outcomes of the key matchups.

T20 World Cup 2026, India vs Pakistan: 5 Key Matchups

(Photo: X)

Can we talk about cricket?

It has taken numerous meetings, flights, discussions and dialogues to ensure that the India vs Pakistan match at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup does not result in a no-show, after the Government of Pakistan announced a boycott on 1 February.

Now that the match is happening, much of the discourse will be on non-cricketing aspects, including handshakes, or the lack of it. Should you be interested in reading about it, check out our top five talking points from the match.

The scope of this article, however, is strictly restricted to cricket, as we take a look at the five matchups which could ultimately decide the outcome of the match.

1. Abhishek Sharma vs Shaheen Afridi

While receiving his Player of the Tournament award at the 2025 Asia Cup, where he had scored 314 runs, Abhishek Sharma took a jibe at Shaheen Afridi, by saying he is not afraid to go after even Pakistan’s ‘premium’ pacers. For context, Afridi had called himself his nation’s ‘premium fast bowler’ in a TV commercial, and with the video doing rounds on social media, Pakistan’s fans started calling him the same.

Abhishek had said:

When I see any bowler, even a fast bowler, any of the premium fast bowlers as well, I want to go from the first ball, no matter who's the bowler. And obviously that's going to make me give that impact to the team. And that's what I want to do.

Abhishek Sharma

Indeed, he has been doing it with enviable ease. Against Afridi, who, for the righteous reasons, is regarded very highly in Pakistan, Sharma has never had any troubles whatsoever to accumulate runs, and that too, at a brisk pace.

In the 19 deliveries the Indian opener has faced off Afridi, he has struck 36 runs at a strike rate of 189.5. In addition to that, he has never lost his wicket to the Pakistan pacer.

2. Jasprit Bumrah vs Sahibzada Farhan

To claim that the ‘premium’ fast bowler of the opponent does not cause their team an iota of worry is not India’s exclusive right. Pakistan can claim it too, for their opener, Sahibzada Farhan, has batted against India’s most lethal bowling asset, Jasprit Bumrah, in a way no one has.

Farhan batted well in all three Asia Cup ties against Bumrah, and scored half-centuries in two of those matches. In the 34 deliveries he faced off the pacer, on tracks in Dubai where scoring runs is not a cakewalk, Farhan accumulated 51 runs at a strike rate of 150 — a figure we usually do not associate with a bowler of Bumrah’s caliber. In a promotional video after the Asia Cup, Farhan had said:

Kya yeh wohi bowler hai jisko abhi tak chakka nahi laga? Maine kaha yeh kaise ho sakta hai? Three innings, 150 runs akele. Jab hum khelte hai, toh yeh nahi dekhte ki saamne wala kaun hai.

Sahibzada Farhan

Will Bumrah have his revenge?

3. Suryakumar Yadav vs Usman Khan

This will be a new battle. Usman Tariq has proven to be unplayable so far. Be it for his uncanny action, the bizarre pause before releasing the ball or for his variations, the Pakistani off-spinner has picked 11 wickets in just four T20Is.

India would hope their captain, Suryakumar Yadav, will lead the charge against Tariq, for he is usually an incredible player of off-spin. In all T20s since 2024, Yadav has scored 156 runs in 92 deliveries off off-spin, at an average of 156 and a strike rate 169.61. He has been dismissed by an off-spinner only once during this period.

When he was asked about India's preparation for Tariq ahead of the match, Yadav said:

Look, sometimes, there is a question in the exam, out of syllabus. So we can't leave that question. To tackle that, you have to try something. You have to adopt your own way. And we try the same way. Yes, he is a different character when he comes to bowl, but at the same time we cannot just surrender to him. We practice with similar type of bowlers and similar actions and we will try to execute what we are practicing in net sessions.

Suryakumar Yadav

4. Tilak Varma vs Abrar Ahmed

Usman Tariq is not the only Pakistani spinner India will have to worry about, as Abrar Ahmed has also been in exemplary form for the green shirts. The leg-spinner has picked up 16 wickets in his last 10 wickets, and though he has got only two wickets to his name in the three T20Is against India, his economy rate of only 7.25 runs per over speaks volume about his efficacy, with the batters the forced to take risks against other bowlers.

In particular, India would expect Tilak Varma to fare better against Ahmed than he did at the Asia Cup. Though the southpaw has never lost his wicket to the leggie, he has struggled to score runs, as evident by his figures of 23 off 26 at a strike rate of 88.5.

5. Varun Chakravarthy vs Babar Azam

On the flip side of an Indian batter's struggle against a Pakistani leggie, Babar Azam has also found it difficult to take on Varun Chakravarthy. In 13 deliveries, he has scored 17 runs at a strike rate of 130.8.

But Azam's concerns are not restricted to Chakravarthy. Pakistan's head coach Mike Hesson has previously been vocal about the need for the former captain to improve his strike rate against the spinners.

Against the leggies, it seems that there are no end to his struggles. Across 11 innings in T20Is since 2025 — for Pakistan, Peshawar Zalmi and Sydney Sixers — Azam has scored 122 runs in 100 deliveries at a strike rate of merely 122. In addition to that, he has also lost his wicket on five occasions, with his average dropping down to 24.4.