Former India captain Rohit Sharma was seen greeting and hugging the Indian players ahead of their marquee 2026 T20 World Cup match against Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday. India and Pakistan are currently locking horns in their third group stage match of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Rohit Sharma is representing as an ICC Ambassador for the 2026 T20 World Cup. He was appointed so in November 2025, and by doing so, he became the first active Indian cricketer to don the role.
The Mumbai cricketer has retired from T20Is and Tests, but continues to play for India in ODIs. It was under Rohit Sharma's captaincy that India won the 2024 T20 World Cup title, beating South Africa in the final in Barbados.
Rohit, along with Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, announced their retirements from T20Is soon after the final.
India look for third straight win in T20 World Cup 2026
Coming back to Sunday's match, Pakistan won the toss and opted to field first. India lost the returning Abhishek Sharma for a duck, and Tilak Varma joined Ishan Kishan in the middle. At the time of writing this report, the Men in Blue were 52/1 from six overs. Ishan Kishan was batting on 42 whereas Tilak Varma was not out on 10.
Abhishek Sharma had missed the match against Namibia due to illness, and Sanju Samson had taken his place. Abhishek has now replaced Samson in the playing XI once again.
Both India and Pakistan are coming into this match on the back of wins in their first two matches. India began their campaign with a 29-run win over United States of America, and followed it up by thumping Namibia by 93 runs.
Pakistan, on the other hand, registered a nervy three-wicket win over Netherlands in their first match before beating USA by 32 runs.
India and Pakistan have enjoyed a fierce rivalry, despite only facing off against each other in ICC and ACC tournaments over the recent years. The Men in Blue enjoy a terrific record against Pakistan in T20Is, having won 13 matches while only losing three.
When it comes to T20 World Cups, India enjoy a 7-1 record against Pakistan. The only time Pakistan have beaten India in T20 World Cups was in 2021, when the Men in Green won by 10 wickets.
