T20 WC: Tilak Varma excited for IND-PAK clash after Pak's U-turn

Indian batter Tilak Varma voiced his excitement for the T20 World Cup fixture against Pakistan after their government reversed its boycott decision. Varma confirmed the team is ready and in the 'match zone' for the much-anticipated clash in Colombo.

India's star batter Tilak Varma expressed his enthusiasm on his side's T20 World Cup fixture against arch-rival Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday after the Goverment of Pakistan made a U-turn on their stance of boycotting the match against the defending champions.

Pakistan announced an earlier boycott of the much-anticipated match against India; however, on Monday, the Government of Pakistan reversed its decision and directed its national cricket team to take the field on February 15 for their scheduled fixture in Colombo. Varma was speaking to reporters on the eve of India's T20 WC fixture against Namibia in New Delhi.

"We are excited to play. We got to know that the match was going to be played yesterday. We are ready to play. We are keeping an eye on all the teams. All the players and team members are excited to play. We are in the match zone," he said.

Focus on Colombo Pitch

The Sinhalese Sports Club wicket has been offering some turn for the spinners. Pakistan will play all their group stage fixtures in Colombo. Pakistani spinners have scalped 13 wickets in the opening two fixtures.

Speaking on the Colombo wicket, Varma said we are going match by match and will see how the wicket behaves there. "We are going match by match. We will see how the wickets work in Colombo. We have technology and will see how the wicket behaves," he added.

India's Upper Hand

Heading into the match, India already has the upper hand over Pakistan, having defeated the arch-rivals three times in their previous encounters last year, including the T20 Asia Cup final.

Squads

India Squad: Ishan Kishan(w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)