“IT'S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE, BUT WE HAVE THE TEAM TO DEFEND THE T20 WORLD CUP” – IRFAN PATHAN

As 2026 begins, the Indian team takes on its first major challenge—defending their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title on home soil. Irfan Pathan, Robin Uthappa and Varun Aaron analysed the Indian team ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026, and assessed whether the Suryakumar Yadav-led side can replicate the heroics of 2007 and 2024.

Speaking on ‘Follow The Blues’, JioStar expert Irfan Pathan was hopeful of India's ICC Men's T20 World Cup defence on home soil:

"Can we defend the T20 World Cup? It has never happened before, but we have the team to defend the title. If we win it back-to-back, for me, nothing can be better than that."

On the key aspects on which India's ICC Men's T20 World Cup campaign will hinge:

"I will have my keen

eyes on one, our bowling. It won us the T20 World Cup. We defended 120-odd against Pakistan. In the final, you defend 30 runs in 30 balls against South Africa, and you win the World Cup. So, that will be my focus, as to whether our bowling is of the same level. Another, who will be our finisher on the other end? Hardik Pandya is your one reliable all-rounder and a strong finisher. But, if God forbid, he gets out, then who is your second option? That will be interesting to see from the combination perspective."

On the challenge of winning the ICC Men's T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 and the role of Captain Suryakumar Yadav:

"Look, it's always going to be difficult. Winning a World Cup isn't that easy. You won the T20 World Cup in 2007 and then in 2024. It took a lot of time, you're talking nearly one and a half decades. That's why, there's a huge responsibility on Suryakumar Yadav, on his batting, on his captaincy. But what is the best thing about this Indian team? From the last T20 World Cup till now, when we are bowling, we are consistently bowling out teams. This is the biggest positive for me, about this Indian team.”

On improvement in Tilak Varma's overall game and his role in the middle overs:

"As a left-hander, batting in the middle-order, playing sweeps, giving importance to strike rate and also absorbing the pressure when two or three wickets fall quickly, something similar to what happened in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan when he absorbed the pressure and then played a match-winning knock after we lost three wickets early while chasing, that is what I want to see Tilak Varma continue doing in the future too. And, it feels like Tilak Varma is growing in confidence as a cricketer and I have noticed an interesting thing, whenever he's warming up, he has the ball in his hand. It shows his attitude towards the game, that he is looking to improve, whether it's in batting, fielding, or even with the ball."

Speaking on the prospect of defending the ICC Men's T20 World Cup title at home, JioStar expert Varun Aaron said:

"If India wins a T20 World Cup at home, that would be so much more special. Obviously, winning a World Cup is a huge achievement. But then winning it at home, just like the women just won the 50-over World Cup, it will be really special if they win it at home."

On the high-octane India-Pakistan clash and desire to witness a close game:

"They played in Dubai recently. That wasn't home turf. But India just took it away so easily. I would love to see a good battle between India and Pakistan. All the fans also would love to see an even-steven battle. And obviously, India taking it home at the end. But at the moment, India looks such a settled side. Pakistan are always shifting and moving their pieces around. And they haven't been able to settle into a solid side for a while. The past ghosts are probably going to haunt Pakistan against India and with India being a very solid side, I don't see Pakistan beating India at all."

Speaking on ‘Follow The Blues’, JioStar expert Robin Uthappa showered praise on Abhishek Sharma's ability to destroy any and every bowling attack:

"According to me, I think what makes Abhishek Sharma super special is the fact that he is very clear about his intent and game plan and he likes to take the attack to the opposition and put them under pressure immediately in the first over itself. That kind of frees up a lot of the other batters around him. I think that's what makes him really special for India. But people will come up with plans against him; they will try to bowl short at him or tighten their lines, but I think Abhishek Sharma has a response for everything."