T20 World Cup 2026 | We’re ready for out-of-syllabus Tariq: Suryakumar Yadav

Colombo: An India vs Pakistan clash is one of the most highly anticipated affairs in world cricket. India skipper Suryakumar Yadav did admit there would be pressure ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup group stage match but asked his wards to ‘play to their strengths’ and not focus much on the opposition.

“According to me, if you play any game, there is always pressure. And when you play an India-Pak game, it’s more about the occasion.

"It’s a big platform obviously. So, no matter how much you say that it’s just another game of cricket, at the back of the mind, it’s human tendency, you know which game you are going to play,” said Suryakumar at the pre-match press conference at the R Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.

“And we don’t play that often as well. But at the end of the day, we will try to keep things simple. Whatever we have done so far, whatever we have practised, we try to include it in the games. And we will try to place our best foot forward.

“They (Pakistan) are also playing good cricket, at the Asia Cup as well as here (T20 World Cup). But at the same time, we have to see how we’ve been playing cricket for the last year. If you leave your strength focus on your rivals, you’ll forget everything. That’s what I have told everyone. Yes, there will be pressure. You can’t run away from the fact that there will be pressure. There will be nerves. Butterflies in the stomach when we start the game tomorrow. But at the same time, if there is no pressure, there is no love to play the game.”

The two big talking points ahead of the blockbuster clash have been Pakistan’s strong five-pronged spin attack and the round-arm action of Usman Tariq. Suryakumar reckoned his team has enough firepower to counter them.

“Sometimes, in an exam, you will get an out-of-syllabus question. You can’t leave that question. You have to tackle that in your own way.  Yes, he (Tariq) is a different character. But at the same time, we can’t just surrender. We practise with similar types of bowlers, similar action in the ‘nets’. And we will try to execute what we have practised in the sessions.

“They (Pakistan) have been doing well obviously with their bowling line-up and combinations. But yeah, we do have definitely some plans to try and tackle them when we play them tomorrow. We also have a similar kind of set-up when we go and play.”

Defending champions India’s strategy since the last T20 World Cup has been to play ultra-aggressive cricket. When asked if India would change the approach on Sunday considering the pitch here is likely to be on the slower side and the potency of Pakistan’s spinners, Surya backed his batters to solve the puzzle on game day.

“It depends on what conditions you get on a given day. We’ve played enough cricket, all the batters have a lot of experience. If it's a tricky wicket, we need to find a solution, right there, right at the same time, and take a call. Because two batters batting inside are the best judges of the conditions who can take a call and move the game ahead.”