“This is our World Cup to lose” - Irfan Pathan reveals why India are strong favorites to win T20 WC 2026

Former Indian all-rounder and commentator Irfan Pathan has lauded the Indian T20I side for stamping their authority in the shortest format of the game ahead of the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, scheduled to start on February 7, in India and Sri Lanka.

Speaking exclusively to RevSportz, Irfan asserted that the upcoming mega event is India’s to lose, adding that all other teams participating in the showpiece event have some or other issues while India is looking the strongest with no major concerns.

“This team is every selector's dream, every coach's dream and every captain's dream. You want firepower at the top, you want an outstanding bowler who can handle the pressure, you have outstanding spinners. This is a dream time and a dream run for Indian cricket, and we should just not stop winning trophies," Irfan Pathan said as quoted by RevSportz.

"A lot of people do criticise the management, but you have got to praise them, seeing how well this young team is playing. Especially how they created the whole atmosphere of being free. This is our World Cup to lose, it is feeling somewhat like that. If you take a look at the other teams, they have a lot of issues. I was just looking at the Australian squad, and some of their main players are injured or they are recovering," he added.

Defending champions India emerged as the first team to announce their 15-member squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 in December.

India squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

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