Battles within the big India-Pak battle to watch out for as stars from both sides will be looking to make an impact.
Gill vs Afridi, Haris vs Bumrah and other battles within India-Pakistan contest.
Shubman Gill was dismissed by Shaheen Shah Afridi at the 2023 World Cup in Ahmedabad in front of 100,000 spectators. He said, “You could’ve heard a fly buzzing, such was the silence.”
Gill, who is currently India’s all-format star, is regarded as a future captain because he transitioned into the position in Test cricket with relative ease.
Afridi appears to have rediscovered the threat that once made him Pakistan’s most feared quick: the late in-swing, the skiddy pace, and the ability to rip out top orders, as he famously did when Pakistan defeated India at the 2021 T20 World Cup on these shores. This comes after two challenging years of battling back injuries, form slumps, and seeing T20I captaincy come and go.
Wristspinners battle
Kuldeep Yadav would be an all-format player on any other squad. However, he has had to accept his status as a white-ball specialist in India. After being sidelined in England for the entire summer, his four-wicket haul against the UAE would have been a nice little prelude.
Kuldeep is familiar with this stage. Nobody will ever forget the ball that was bowled to Babar Azam through the gate at the 2019 World Cup, leaving even the late Shane Warne guffawing with admiration.
Varun Chakravarthy, whose career trajectory could fill a Tamil movie, is with him. Shortly after India’s early elimination from the 2021 T20 World Cup, the former architect and movie hopeful was fired. He questioned whether he would ever again don the colours of India. However, no bowler has taken more T20I wickets than Varun’s 32 since the last T20 World Cup, which he didn’t even attend.
There are mystery spinners in Pakistan as well. The first Pakistani on the above list, ranked No. 10, is Sufiyan Muqeem, a left-arm wristspinner who came through the ‘A’ system and has been one of their best prospects.
Muqeem has the opportunity to achieve it on a major scale after playing a key role in Pakistan’s victory over India at the 2023 Emerging Asia Cup. A brilliant ball or spell, such as Abrar Ahmed’s ripper that got past Gill’s defence at the Champions Trophy earlier this year, may make him a regular.
The storyline of Varun and Kuldeep versus Muqeem and Abrar is intriguing.
Bumrah vs Mohammad Haris
Similar to Sam Konstas, Jasprit Bumrah is more skilled at his craft than is Muhammad Haris. Haris may do the same in the T20 format. However, the Australian rode his luck in an incredible Test century on debut against Bumrah, blasting 18 in the most costly over of the fast bowler’s Test career and reverse-scooping him twice for a six.
Similar to Konstas, Haris will also be playing Bumrah for the first time, and he also enjoys shooting risky shots. Haris revitalised Pakistan’s struggling T20I World Cup campaign in 2022 in just his second Twenty20 International. He faced off against the best pace bowlers in South Africa, thrashing Kagiso Rabada for 17 in an 11-ball knock that yielded 28.
Haris’ typical approach, however, is far from adequate to contend with a bowler of Bumrah’s calibre. The only thing Pakistan needs from him, as they did at the SCG three years ago, is to lash, thrash, paddle, and scoop his way to a cameo. However, if logic and facts win out, it might not work.
India’s spin battalion vs Hassan Nawaz
Outside the powerplay, Hasan Nawaz has become Pakistan’s bludgeon. Pakistan has started utilising him when the field spreads out after experimenting with his batting position; his 2025 T20 strike of 174.09 is only lower than that of Tim David and Dewald Brevis.
Interestingly, however, Hasan’s strike rate falls to 150 against spin instead of 173.48 against pace. He faces all bowling styles; he has hit 17 T20I sixes against each, so it seems that spin quality matters.
The three spinners from India—Axar Patel, Varun, and Kuldeep—are all of the same calibre and skilled at suffocating an innings in the middle overs.
As soon as Hasan steps into the crease, spin is probably going to start, and this match could be decided by his ability to hold up against that enormous challenge.