Following India’s dominant 61-run victory over Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla expressed confidence in the team’s capacity to win the championship.
India defeated their archrivals in a strong performance, qualifying for the Super 8s. In response to the sweeping victory, Shukla hailed the margin of victory as a big statement to all other teams. Shukla also emphasized the depth and balance of the Indian squad, highlighting how several players have come up at critical periods throughout the tournament.
“Winning against Pakistan by such a huge margin, I think it is a huge achievement, and today I am fully confident that the way our boys played, we will win the World Cup as well,” said Shukla after the match.
“Sometimes Ishan Kishan performs, sometimes Abhishek performs, all the boys perform. So we have such a strong team that we will definitely win the World Cup,” he concluded.
Shukla was accompanied in the stands by former India captain Rohit Sharma and ICC Chairman Jay Shah for the high-profile clash in Colombo.
India’s balanced displays with both bat and ball have established them as one of the tournament favourites so far. With match-winners across all departments, the Men in Blue look well on course as the Super 8 stage draws closer.
After securing victories in their first three matches, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side sits comfortably at the top of the Group A table, becoming the second team after West Indies to qualify for the next stage of the competition.
It was a complete team performance on a challenging R. Premadasa surface against Pakistan. Asked to bat first, India posted 175/7 in their 20 overs, with left-hander Ishan Kishan stealing the spotlight through a match-winning 77 off just 40 deliveries. He was rightly named Player of the Match for his outstanding knock.
India will next face the Netherlands on February 18 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in their final Group A fixture.
