Ahead of the India versus Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 clash, one name dominating the headlines is Usman Tariq. The mystery spinner, who rose to prominence with impressive show in franchise cricket, is being hailed as Pakistan's "X-factor" heading into the marquee fixture, scheduled for February 15 in Colombo.
Amid the noise, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav was seen mimicking Tariq’s slingy action in nets as his team prepared for the unique spinner.
The video of Surya’s imitation, including the extra pause, went viral on the internet. Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh were among the batters to face him in the nets.
While Usman Tariq has troubled the batters in his brief international journey so far, his unorthodox action has become a topic of debate, with many labelling him a "blatant chucker."
Tariq’s action has been reported twice, first during PSL 2024 and again in the 2025 season. However, the ICC and PCB have given him clearance.
Recently, former England skipper Kevin Pietersen termed the pause in his loading action "illegal" while ex-India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin offered a different view.
During the pre-match presser, Suryakumar Yadav insisted India were ready for the unusual challenge, accepting Tariq’s method was ‘out of the syllabus’ but one to which the team won’t ‘surrender’.
“In every exam, there comes a question which seems out of the syllabus. We don't have the option of leaving that question. You have to try something. Yes, he is a different character, but we cannot surrender. We obviously practice, and we will try to execute our plans,” Surya told reporters.
“They (Pakistan spinners) have been doing well, obviously, with their bowling line-up and with their combinations. But yeah, we do have some plans to try and tackle them when we play them tomorrow. And we also have a similar kind of setup when we go and play. But I don't know. We have just seen the wicket. It looks good. It looks very good. And we will see what happens tomorrow,” he added.
