IND vs PAK T20: 5 Players to Watch – Surya, Kishan, Bumrah, Abhishek, Varun

IND vs PAK T20 contests aren’t generally decided by the most spectacular play; they’re won by whichever team gets the match to the stage they want – an over ahead of their opponent.

This time, the attention is fairly evenly distributed: two batsmen who might turn six overs into a real display, a captain who can alter his field placements during an innings, and two bowlers able to get time out of batsmen on a pitch already used.

Should Colombo play even a little slowly, the game will come down to judgment – what risks are worth running in the powerplay, and which batsmen are able to keep the runs coming when spin begins to bite.

Here are the five players who will give the answers to those questions – Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Abhishek Sharma, and Varun Chakravarthy – and the reason their next 40 balls (or 24, in the case of the bowlers) could well determine the result.

In Depth

Why these five are more important

Every IND vs PAK T20 has a group of stars. This one has a set of roles suited to Colombo: powerplay purpose, middle-overs control, death-overs dominance, and a spinner who can cause batsmen to question what they thought they saw.

Suryakumar and Kishan set out how India begin, and how they recover. Abhishek sets out just how strongly India are prepared to push in the first six overs, assuming he’s fully fit.

Bumrah sets out whether Pakistan’s best batsmen are allowed to play “normal” shots at the end of the innings. Varun sets out whether Pakistan’s middle overs feel like a chase or a struggle.

The straightforward way to read this match is this: if India win two of these five individual contests, they will control the pace. If Pakistan win three, India will be made to play catch-up.

1) Suryakumar Yadav: The pace-setter who dislikes predictable fields

Suryakumar’s worth in IND vs PAK T20 isn’t just the runs he scores; it’s the way he alters what “a good ball” means for a bowler.

In India’s opening match, he showed why he is the centre of this batting line-up – an undefeated 84 from 49 balls which turned a modest start into a total that could be defended. That innings was important not just due to the runs, but because it reminded everyone that he can score without having to wait for mistakes.

Against Pakistan, the challenge is sharper. The ball might not come on to the bat, and the spinners will attempt to make straight hits seem risky.

Suryakumar’s answer to that is his range behind the wicket. If fine third man and fine leg are in position early, captains will dislike their own field settings as they’re always one step behind.

Pay attention to how he begins. If he starts with singles and late cuts, he is reading the pace well and Pakistan will be forced to protect more areas than they would like.

Also watch his first contest with a mystery spinner. If he picks up the release point and stays still at the crease, he will turn dot balls into twos and twos into panic.

If he doesn’t, Pakistan will drag him into the type of game where you feel you must hit a boundary every over, and that’s where wickets fall.

2) Ishan Kishan: Powerplay purpose with a middle-overs scheme

Kishan is the batsman who decides whether India’s innings starts with pressure or with patience. In IND vs PAK T20, that first choice alters everything Pakistan can do with the new ball.

Against Namibia, he played a clear intent innings – 61 from 24 balls – making the most of anything in his hitting arc and refusing to let the powerplay slow down. The greater detail was how soon he located boundary options without needing to take wild swings.

That’s vital in Colombo. If the pitch is uneven, the batsman who swings hardest isn’t always the batsman who scores fastest.

Kishan’s best form is when he remains compact and hits with the swing rather than for the swing. One clean pick-up over midwicket can force a deep fielder into position sooner than Pakistan had planned.

His matchup is also easy to understand: a left-hander against left-arm pace at the start, and then a left-hander against wrist spin as the middle overs begin.

If Pakistan start with swing and a packed off-side, Kishan will need to resist the temptation to cut. If he can hit straight just once, it will open up the cut and pull later on.

In the middle overs, Kishan’s job changes. He doesn’t need to win every over; he needs to prevent the innings from stopping while Suryakumar sets the larger traps for the field.

If Kishan gives India 35 from 22 with one boundary burst, that can be more valuable than a showy 20-ball innings which throws away a wicket.

3) Jasprit Bumrah: The over you can’t make plans for

Bumrah is the unusual bowler in IND vs PAK T20 who forces batsmen to play the ball, not the situation.

Even when batsmen “get him away,” they often do so by reducing their options. That’s the hidden win: he removes two scoring shots without taking a wicket, and the next bowler suddenly looks tougher.

If he’s at his best, his influence lands in three places. The first is the opening spell, where he can make the ball feel heavier than it is.

The second is the 16th over – one of those sneaky overs which decides whether a chase needs 10s or 14s at the end.

The third is the 19th. That’s where Bumrah’s blend of yorker, slower ball, and hard length stops the “one big over” that chases depend on.

Pakistan’s best batsmen will try to pick a side and commit. Against Bumrah, committing early is often the error.

If Babar or Rizwan go back, Bumrah’s hard length cramps them. If he bowls, he’ll have the yorker and the wide delivery available to him.

The first two overs from him will truly show what’s happening – should he be pitching the ball a little short of a yorker’s length, Pakistan will have to take more chances against India’s spin bowlers soon after.

And should Pakistan do get going against the other bowlers, Bumrah is the man who’s able to drag the innings back to a score India can chase, and he can do it in only one over.

4) Abhishek Sharma: Being fit is one thing, being uninhibited is another.

Abhishek being in the side really alters the mood of India’s top order. With him there, India can go for wins in the powerplay instead of just getting through it.

His form in the recent tournament has been a bit up and down – out early in the first game, then sickness which broke his flow. The major thing for India versus Pakistan in this T20 isn’t “can he bat?” – it’s “can he bat without holding himself back?”

Because Abhishek at his best is a clear signal: India are prepared to go quickly for 55 in six overs. Abhishek at 85% is a different signal: India may still go for their shots, but they’ll take fewer risks, and that might make the middle overs a struggle.

Pakistan will plan for him as a key point. Expect full-length balls at the start to check his timing, and then spin into the pitch the moment the powerplay is over.

Abhishek’s best answer is to be sure of what he’s doing. If he’s decided he’s going to hit hard over cover, he needs to really commit and hit straight. If he’s decided to go at midwicket, he needs to read the length early and not half-swing.

On a slow pitch, half-swings will fall in the field, and full swings will get top edges. Abhishek’s best innings on a pitch like this is generally one where he gets clean boundaries early, and then accepts that getting singles is still moving things forward.

If he stays in long enough to face both swing and spin, he also makes the left-right problem for Pakistan’s captain. This is important because it decides where the fielders go, and the fielders then decide what lengths the bowlers bowl.

A quick 28 from 14 balls could still be vital here – should it force Pakistan to change their best plan before they’d hoped to.

5) Varun Chakravarthy: A middle-overs squeeze that feels like practice.

Varun isn’t the sort of bowler who needs a turning pitch to be effective. He needs two things: a pitch that grips a little, and a batter who wants the match to go faster than the pitch lets it.

Against Namibia, he bowled the ideal T20 spell for this ground – three wickets for seven runs in two overs. The figures are the story, but the more important detail is how fast he created uncertainty.

In India versus Pakistan T20, Varun’s task is simple: make Pakistan’s best players feel as though they’re always just about to be too late on the ball.

His success often comes from speed through the air. When he bowls faster, batters aren’t able to step out easily, and when they stay put, the ball can either skid or hold up just enough to pull a shot into the infield.

Pakistan’s batters will attempt to turn him into a “single” bowler. The usual tactic is: don’t chase boundaries, pick one safe place, and turn the strike over.

Varun’s response is to block that one safe place with small changes – one ball a little fuller, one a little slower, one on a tighter line which forces the batter to hit in a direction they don’t want to.

The main contest isn’t just batter versus bowler. It’s batter versus the scoreboard.

If Pakistan are 70 for 1 at the halfway point, they can allow themselves to play Varun out. If they’re 55 for 2, Varun becomes the over they feel they have to “win,” and that’s when the wickets come.

Also look at how India set the field for him. If there’s a close catcher early, India are looking for a wicket, not just to hold things back. If the ring is tight with a deep sweeper, India are trying to make Pakistan hit to the larger boundary and take the risk.

Varun’s spell will probably be the part of the match which either stays calm or turns hectic.

How these five are linked: the game within the game

It’s tempting to think of “players to watch” as five separate stories. In India versus Pakistan T20, these five are linked like a chain.

If Abhishek and Kishan get off to a fast start, Suryakumar will come in with freedom. If Suryakumar comes in with freedom, Pakistan will be forced to attack, and that brings Varun into play as a wicket-taker, not only a controller.

If Varun gets wickets in the middle overs, Bumrah will have a smaller score to defend at the end. If Bumrah defends a smaller score, India won’t need a perfect batting day to win.

Turn it around, and the logic is just as clear. If Pakistan win the powerplay with early wickets, India will rely on Suryakumar to rebuild. If Suryakumar is held back by spin, India need late-overs power, and that invites risk.

That’s why these five are important. They aren’t just in-form players; they are the controls which move the innings from one story to another.

What to look for in the first 30 minutes

If you’re watching from India, three early signs tell you which way India versus Pakistan T20 is going.

1. First, Abhishek’s running. If he’s sprinting for twos and turning quickly, he isn’t still feeling the effects of the illness and India’s powerplay plan will remain aggressive.
2. Second, Kishan’s first boundary option. If it’s straight and clean, Pakistan will have to defend a zone they don’t want to.
3. Third, Pakistan’s reaction to Suryakumar coming in. If they go defensive straight away, they’re worried about his range. If they attack with spin and close catchers, they believe the pitch is doing enough to make him take risks.

By the time the 8th over begins, you’ll usually know whether Varun is coming on to take wickets or to hold things back.