India will be batting first in the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in their crucial Group A clash against Pakistan. Both captains did not shake hands again as has been the norm since the Asia Cup 2025. While Pakistan have named the same team, India have announced two changes to their Playing XI.
India welcomed the return of Abhishek Sharma, who missed the game against Namibia due to illness. Sanju Samson as a result misses out. Arshdeep Singh, despite his success, made way for Kuldeep Yadav with spin to play a huge role in Colombo on Sunday.
There will also be no handshake between players and support staff of two teams after the end of the match, a norm that has been followed by Suryakumar as a mark of respect for the families of the victims killed in the Pahalgam terror attack and solidarity towards Indian Army in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.
Pakistan Playing XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan(w), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq
India Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
“We won last two games defending so we don’t want to change it. It is an occasion, it’s a high-stake game. This sport teaches you a lot of things, any side can win the game on a given day,” said Suryakumar at the toss.
