Former India opener Kris Srikkanth feels Pakistan’s batting lineup won’t be a threat in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 clash at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on February 14. Srikkanth said that Sahibzada Farhan who scored 155 runs against India in T20 Asia Cup 2025 won't be a threat. He went on to predict that either Jasprit Bumrah or Varun Chakravarthy will dismiss him.
"Everyone is hyping up Farhan, but tomorrow he's going to fail. Either Bumrah will clean him up, or he will play across the line to Varun Chakravarthy and have his stumps shattered. Once he is dismissed, Pakistan are finished. Pakistan's batting is not convincing at all," Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
Srikkanth trolls Babar-Agha
Apart from Shadab Khan, Srikkanth does not see a proper T20I batter in Pakistan side. He believes Babar Azam will play like it is a Test match and skipper Salman Agha will follow suit. He went on to say that Pakistan batters are clueless against Bumrah and Chakravarthy.
"But Pakistan's batting has only one Sahibzada Farhan. How can they expect to win a World Cup match with just one batter? Babar Azam will come and play a Test match. And Salman Agha is Babar Azam 2.0. They have only Shadab Khan, who can be dangerous in the middle order. They don't know how to play Varun Chakravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah," said the former chief selector.
Pakistan spinners a threat for India
In the T20 Asia Cup 2025, Pakistan suffered three consecutive losses despite Farhan's contributions. In the ongoing edition, both teams have two wins from as many games. While Srikkanth doesn't rate Pakistan's batting highly, he considers their spin-bowling as the only threat. Pakistan had five spinners in their lineup in the clash against the USA. The 1983 World Cup-winning member has questioned the Indian middle-order's ability to play spin.
"Their spinners are good, and the Indians have also not been convincing against spin so far. There are times the middle order has struggled against the spinners. It's a gun lineup, but only against good spin attacks. India have not been comfortable," said the 66-year-old.
Pakistan don’t have an impressive T20I record against India overall and of late. In the previous five T20Is, Pakistan have ended up on the losing side.