It’s great that the Pakistan game is back on: ten Doeschate

The uncertainty over the high-octane T20 World Cup Group A fixture between India and Pakistan in Colombo on February 15 was lifted late on Monday (February 9, 2026) night. Before the Men in Blue took part in a training session under lights at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday (February 10), in the lead-up to Thursday’s (February 12) clash against Namibia, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate weighed in on the confirmation that the clash between the arch-rivals will go ahead.

“First of all, I think it’s great that the game is back on. We kind of never changed our preparation that the game wasn’t going to happen, we were always under the impression that something would transpire and we would play. We got confirmation late yesterday and early this morning that the game was going to go ahead and we’d like to have another chance to play against a quality side,” ten Doeschate told the media here.

In India’s 29-run victory against the USA, an indisposed Jasprit Bumrah was missing in action, while Abhishek Sharma didn’t take any part in the second half of the game after getting out for a first-ball duck. Bumrah and Washington Sundar, who have recovered from a rib injury, were back in training on Tuesday (February 10). Abhishek wasn’t part of the practice session.

“Abhishek has still got a few issues with his tummy, we hope that he’ll be available for the game. Bumrah has been off 10 days without bowling, but he’s feeling a lot better and moving a lot better,” ten Doeschate informed.