Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has lashed out at Pakistan after their heavy 61-run defeat to India in their T20 World Cup 2026 Group A match in Colombo on February 15. Ashwin believes that Pakistan lost the match to India already at the toss itself.
Toss call led Pakistan to an embarrassing loss to India!!
The former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has pointed out that Pakistan made a big mistake by choosing to bowl first after winning the toss against the Men in Blue in Colombo, especially where there was rain in the past couple of days. Ashwin has pointed out that chasing has been a tough task in the ongoing tournament, especially at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.
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Despite this, Salman Ali Agha made this blunder, and they paid the price for it. On the other hand, the Men in Blue used the conditions smartly and put up a strong total. When Pakistan came out to chase, they looked confused and under pressure from the start, and the required run rate kept rising.
Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, “Where did they win to lose the plot? Pakistan lost the game when they opted to bowl first after winning the toss because we saw the match between Australia and Zimbabwe. Australia struggled to get 170. When we see IPL matches, teams win easily if they need 100 runs off the last 10 overs. But it’s not happening in this World Cup.”
Ravichandran Ashwin slams Salman Ali Agha’s captaincy
Ravichandran Ashwin also questioned the captaincy of Salman Ali Agha. He felt Pakistan did not use their bowlers in the best way during the powerplay. He especially highlighted the handling of Shaheen Afridi, saying the fast bowler was not used smartly when Indian batters were attacking him.
The cricket pundit added, “In Premadasa Stadium, you can’t chase 100 in ten overs. The way Pakistan deals with pressure, India is 100 times better in that aspect. I don’t think Pakistan is there. Honestly, Pakistan has become tactically better under Salman Agha and Mike Hesson. But the way they brought Shaheen Afridi after Agha’s first over was a terrible mistake.”
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In the death overs, things became even worse for Pakistan. India scored freely at the death, and Afridi gave away too many runs in the last over, allowing India to finish with a big total. That strong finish made the target too tough for Pakistan.
The Shaheen Afridi blunder
Ravichandran Ashwin further mentioned how Pakistan made the blunder of sending Afridi in the final over when India was already on 159 runs, and he ended up conceding 16 runs in that over. Because of this, India finished with a much bigger total, and it eventually played a key role in their massive defeat.
He signed off by saying, “I feel cricketers need to be told, ‘This is your match-up.’ Data tells the truth. If Shaheen was getting whacked, I would’ve loved to see him come round the wicket to the left-hander. He didn’t do it, and the second over should have been Saim Ayub.”
