The India-Pakistan clash in Colombo arrives with political noise and emotional build-up, but former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar sees little sporting suspense. Speaking ahead of the T20 World Cup meeting, he argued that recent history points only one way. India, in his view, hold too much control, too much balance, and too many answers.
“India-Pakistan match, what do you expect?” Manjrekar said during an interaction on Instagram. “I have been saying this for the last few years. India should beat Pakistan.” He added, “These days, matches between India and Pakistan have been more one-sided than competitive,” a blunt assessment backed by the numbers.
India’s dominance hardly needs dressing up. They have won 13 of 16 T20 meetings, beaten Pakistan every time at the last Asia Cup, and lost just once to them at T20 World Cups. Manjrekar sees no evidence that the pattern will suddenly flip.
Still, he offered Pakistan a narrow tactical route into the contest. “If there is a surprise result, it can come if Pakistan attack India with spin,” he said. “They have six spinning options and if they pick the right XI, five spinners could put India under pressure, not Shaheen Afridi or Naseem Shah.” His logic leaned on India’s recent discomfort against quality spin rather than raw pace.
Attention has also turned to Usman Tariq, whose unusual action has drawn interest and concern from the Indian camp. India struggled against Namibia’s spinners in their last outing, and that vulnerability has not gone unnoticed.
Manjrekar, however, kept expectations in check. “They should attack India with spin because recently India have looked slightly vulnerable against spin,” he said. Then came the killer line. “Against India, this is probably Pakistan’s only weapon, but it is a small weapon, not something like a Brahmastra.”
