Delhi: Facing Pakistan in Colombo during the 2026 T20 World Cup has been described as a “challenge” by India assistant coach Ryan ten Toske, noting that the Pakistan team has already stayed in the Sri Lankan capital for two weeks.
Speaking in Delhi on Tuesday, a day after Pakistan’s government boycotted the February 15 group match against India, Den Toskate said India’s products were largely unaffected despite the uncertainty over the past ten days.
“First of all, it’s great to have the game back,” said Ten Toskett.
The former Netherlands player reflected on the team’s mood and preparedness ahead of their upcoming match against Pakistan, stressing their determination to focus on cricket despite the uncertainty surrounding the tournament.
“We never changed our preparation that the game wasn’t going to happen. We always had the mindset that something was going to happen, we were going to play. So, there wasn’t a big change in how we went about things. And I think we got kind of a confirmation late yesterday and early this morning. The game is going to go ahead. The competition.”
He said the team chose to avoid off-field distractions and keep their focus on performance.
“We accepted the situation as a status quo – until they didn’t come, we assumed we would play. We tried to stay away from the politics around the tournament and focus on the cricket. Playing in Colombo will be a challenge, Pakistan have already been playing for two weeks and our focus is on bringing our best game to that tournament next week.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan have played their first two group games at the Sinhala Sports Club, but will face India at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
The team had wins in both matches, defeating the Netherlands in the tournament opener on February 7 and the USA on Tuesday.