Former captain hails Team India’s strength, names his T20 World Cup favourites
February 10, 2026: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has expressed confidence ahead of India’s high-voltage T20 World Cup 2026 Group A clash against arch-rivals Pakistan, scheduled for February 15 in Colombo. Calling it a “big World Cup match,” Ganguly said India enter the contest as the stronger side. His remarks came after the Pakistan government officially cleared its team to play the fixture, ending days of uncertainty around a potential boycott.
Pakistan had earlier indicated it might skip the match in solidarity with Bangladesh, following the ICC’s decision to reject Bangladesh’s request to move matches out of India over security concerns. However, after high-level talks involving the PCB, ICC and BCB, and discussions between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Islamabad directed its team to take the field. The move paved the way for the much-anticipated India-Pakistan showdown to go ahead as scheduled.
Speaking from Kolkata, Ganguly also praised the competitive start to the tournament and singled out Abhishek Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan as his favourite Indian players. India opened their campaign with a 29-run win over the USA, with skipper Suryakumar scoring an unbeaten 84. The Men in Blue next face Namibia in Delhi on February 12, before travelling to Colombo to take on Pakistan, followed by their final group match against the Netherlands on February 18.