India's World Cup-winning star Kris Srikkanth lavished praise on the Suryakumar Yadav-led side after their dominating eight-wicket win against New Zealand in the third T20I in Guwahati. He believes that teams around the world would be nervous about facing India in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to start from February 7.
Kris Srikkanth's brutal dig at Pakistan
Srikkanth also took a brutal dig, asking Pakistan to skip the tournament altogether. His remark came after PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi recently spoke about a possible boycott in support of Bangladesh, which has been excluded from the tournament. The T20 World Cup will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
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“In the last match, India scored 209 in 15 overs. In this match, they scored 150 in 10 overs. Seeing this, many teams might say ‘no, we are not coming. You can keep the cup’,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube show.
“Hey Pakistan, don’t come. Your man Mohsin Naqvi has been talking about it — don’t come. You will be thrashed. A six hit in Colombo will land in Madras. Beware. The best option is to stay away. Find an excuse and don’t come.
“These boys will thrash them hard.
“This will send an alarming signal to every cricket team in the world. This kind of hitting in T20 cricket — I have never seen anything like it.”
India's T20I domination against New Zealand
India have looked unstoppable in the ongoing five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which is their last international assignment before the World Cup. On Sunday in Guwahati, India chased down a target of 154 runs in just 10 overs. Abhishek Sharma smashed a 14-ball fifty, while captain Suryakumar Yadav played a blistering knock of 57 runs from only 26 balls.
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This chase became the second-fastest successful run chase of 150 or more in T20I history. New Zealand bowlers had no breathing space, as every over went for at least 10 runs.
The dominant win came just days after another stunning performance, where India chased down 209 runs in only 15.2 overs. That effort set a new record for the fastest chase of a 200-plus total by a Full Member nation in T20I cricket.
Will Pakistan boycott T20 World Cup 2026?
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi said that Pakistan are dicey about their participation in the T20 World Cup 2026 and they are awaiting a government nod. Naqvi also criticised the International Cricket Council for not agreeing to Bangladesh’s demand to move their matches out of India. However, Pakistan have announced their squad for the marquee event.
Notably, India and Pakistan are placed in the same group of the T20 World Cup 2026 and they will lock horns against each other on February 15 in Colombo.