"Include Washington Sundar..." - Sunil Gavaskar suggests dropping main Indian pacer against Pakistan for T20 World Cup 2026

India and Pakistan are getting ready to face each other in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 Group A fixture, which has been scheduled for this Sunday night (February 15) at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has come up with a special suggestion for the match, where he has suggested benching one important Indian pacer to bring in the spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar.

The Sri Lankan pitches are favoring the spinners as expected in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. Sunil Gavaskar feels that Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah can handle the pace bowling responsibility for the match. However, if the pitch continues to assist the spinners, India should go with Washington Sundar. It means that Gavaskar indirectly wants to drop the left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, the leading T20I wicket-taker for India, for the India vs Pakistan match in the tournament due to the pitch condition.  

Washington Sundar can bowl spin and is also a left-handed batter: Sunil Gavaskar

Gavaskar said on Aaj Tak, "I would also say that if the pitch is assisting spin, I would prefer the Indian team to open the bowling with Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, and include Washington Sundar in the XI. Washington Sundar can bowl spin and is also a left-handed batter who can score runs coming in at number eight. So I would like the team management to assess the pitch and conditions carefully before finalising the playing XI."

India are playing with the spinners like Varun Chakravarthy and the all-rounder Axar Patel, while Shivam Dube can also deliver the medium-pace bowling duty. 

Watch: Abhishek Sharma with full Indian squad leaves for Colombo ahead of T20 World Cup clash vs Pakistan

Sunil Gavaskar also talks about how dangerous Usman Tariq can be against India

On the other hand, there is more talk about how the Indian batters can handle the controversial Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq. Gavaskar feels that Tariq can trouble the Indian batters only if the ball turns sharply. 

Gavaskar said, "The Indian team has played against Abrar in previous matches, so they did not face too many difficulties against him. Usman Tariq is new, and I just heard that even the Pakistani batsmen who were playing did not seem to face much trouble. I also do not think there will be too many issues. However, if the ball starts turning sharply, then it can trouble any batter."