“We are very excited to play” - Tilak Varma ahead of the marquee clash against Pakistan

India’s No.3 batter Tilak Varma has stated that the Indian team is excited to play against their arch-rivals Pakistan in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 15, in Colombo.

Speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of the Namibia clash, Tilak asserted that the Indian team got to know about Pakistan’s U-turn on their boycott drama. However, he decided not to make any comment on their decision. 

“To be honest, we are very excited to play. We got to know that the match is going to take place day before. We are ready to play. We are watching all the teams. We are watching the bowlers and the batsmen. All the players and team members are ready to play. Now, we are in the match zone. The planning will start,” said Tilak on the eve of the Namibia game here on Thursday.

“We are going one by one in every match, so we will see, we have video analysis, we have the technology, so we will see how we are playing, how the wicket is behaving, we have already prepared, so everyone has different shots in their team, so the shots that we have to play in the wicket, the bowlers we have to target,” he added. 

On Tuesday, February 10, Team India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate made it clear that Pakistan could have an edge, having already spent considerable time in Colombo in the past few weeks.

“It’s going to be a challenge going to Colombo where Pakistan have been for the last two weeks and we’re fully focused on just bringing our best game to that fixture next week,” Ryan said.

India will take on Namibia in their second group stage clash on Thursday, February 12 in Delhi.

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