Ind vs Pak: Usman Tariq ‘out of syllabus question’, says Suryakumar Yadav

With Pakistan’s off-spinner Usman Tariq hogging the limelight for his 'pause and sling' bowling action, India captain Suryakumar Yadav on Saturday (February 14) termed facing him as “out of syllabus question”.

Also read: Five key players for India vs Pakistan game

India and Pakistan are set to face off in a T20 World Cup 2026 group game in Colombo on Sunday and Tariq’s action has been widely debated by former players, and fans on social media.

‘We can’t surrender’

On the eve of the big clash, Suryakumar was asked about Tariq and he replied, “Sometimes an out of syllabus question comes up in the exam. So we can't ignore it. To tackle it, you have to try something. You have to adopt your own method, and that's how we try. He is a different character when it comes to bowling, but at the same time, we can't surrender. So, we practice with similar types of bowlers and similar actions, and we will obviously try to execute only that.”

Also read: India vs Pakistan match preview

The Indian skipper admitted to being under pressure as always while playing against the arch-rivals. “There's always pressure. With India-Pakistan, it's more of an occasion. No matter how much we say ‘it’s just any other game’, but it’s a human tendency to be under pressure because it is not any other game. We don't play them often either. So the pressure is always there.”

India’s ‘scratchy start’

He stated that the team wanted to focus on its strength rather than thinking about the opposition. “We have to see how we've been playing. We want to continue on that. We will focus on our strength. Not how the opposition is perform. Whoever will play better cricket will win the game. That's the only thing that matters.”

Having won their first two matches, against USA and Namibia, India have not been convincing in both victories. India were reduced to 77 for six by the USA and then Namibia grabbed five wickets for four runs in the death overs, exposing certain chinks in their batting.

“We had a scratchy start; we can’t run away from the fact. There’s no excuse. Everyone has played a lot of cricket, batters should have their own plans on a tricky wicket. We started well but had a hiccup, but then covered it well. It’s the beauty of T20 cricket,” Suryakumar said.

Will players shake hands?

On whether India and Pakistan players would shake hands on Sunday, Suryakumar said they would take a call later. “Now wait for 24 hours for that. Why put so much focus on that? We have come to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will take all those calls later tomorrow. Wait for it. Eat well and go to sleep.”

Suryakumar knew that Pakistan had been stationed in Sri Lanka since the last fortnight, but remained unfazed, and banked on his team’s experience to come up trumps.

“They might have some edge. But as I said, we have come here before, we have played in these conditions, we know how the pitch plays, similar conditions to India. It's like the same situation for both the teams. See, it's definitely challenging when you come to Sri Lanka.

“But then at the end of the day, you have to challenge yourself, somehow find a solution and come out good,” he noted.

Irrespective of the nature of the pitch, Suryakumar said the team would stick to the familiar template of aggressive cricket.