Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has discounted the hype surrounding Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq ahead of the high-voltage India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 match on February 15 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Kaif added that, despite the growing hype surrounding Usman Tariq, Indian players have refrained from discussing about him publicly. He emphasized that the team’s focus should be on developing a good game plan to counter the spinner, rather than adding to the unneeded excitement.
“First of all, the hype that is building is fine, but it is a good thing that the players themselves are not talking about it. None of the Indian batters are making public comments, and that is good because you do not want to give too much hype to any player before a big game. Broadcasters, experts, and fans can discuss it, but the players have to focus on playing. The players should not build so much hype in their minds that they start thinking about things like pauses in the bowling action or carrom balls,” said Kaif on YouTube live session.
Kaif also said India has a high quality side with experienced match-winners and questioned the concentration on Tariq. He pointed out that the spinner hasn’t bowled at to Men in Blue as yet and stressed that a player’s performance against top teams should dictate the level of attention he gets.
“This Indian team is a very strong side. They have big match-winners from the top order down to No. 8. So there should not be unnecessary hype around Tariq. Of course, players should watch his videos, understand how to play him, and make proper plans for the match. Bigger spinners have been faced in the past. Tariq is being talked about a lot, but he has not even played against India yet. If he had played and taken four wickets, then there would be reason to discuss how brilliant he was. But he has not faced India yet, so building hype beforehand raises questions.”
Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif also said that India have encountered and tackled world class spinners in the past. He stated that the squad practices with Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy in the nets, while insisting players were accustomed to playing high-quality spin bowling.
“Indian batters have handled Muttiah Muralitharan, one of the greatest bowlers ever. He played in the 2011 World Cup and yet India managed to cope with him. There was also Saeed Ajmal from Pakistan, a very difficult bowler. Even Sachin Tendulkar has spoken about how hard he was to read because of his variations and changes in pace. So India have faced and played against bigger spinners before. Indian batters regularly face Kuldeep and Varun in the nets. Varun Chakravarthy even picked up three wickets in two overs in the last match. Our players grow up playing against such spinners.”
Mohammad Kaif
