Pakistan’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign was given a major lifeline on Friday (February 27) after England defeated New Zealand by four wickets in Colombo.

Now, the Men in Green need to win against Sri Lanka by either more than 64 runs or chase down the target in 13.1 overs to overtake the Kiwis' net run rate and qualify for the semifinals.

However, former India opener Virender Sehwag believes Pakistan don’t have the arsenal to make it to the last-four stage of the competition.

During a panel discussion on Cricbuzz, when the anchor mentioned the scenario for Pakistan if they are to bat first against Sri Lanka, Sehwag minced no words as he said, “Nahi hone wala. Aage padh (It won't happen, read further).”

The anchor then spoke about the task at hand for Pakistan if they are to chase. To which, Sehwag bluntly remarked: “Wo bhi nahi hone wala. (This too won't happen).”

“It won't happen, that's what I was saying. It is not that easy for Pakistan. The prayers might have been accepted for the England-New Zealand match. But the prayers won't work for Pakistan in the game against Sri Lanka. They have been praying for so long, and it has not worked. So I don't think this is possible,” Sehwag further stated.

According to Sehwag, only Sri Lanka playing poor cricket and making things easy for the Salman Ali Agha-led side can take them to semis. He wondered how Pakistan can even chase 160 in 14 overs when they are struggling to post such a score on the board.

“If they somehow qualify, very good. If they score 160 and then win by 60 runs, Sri Lanka would have to play some poor cricket. They would need to be bowled out for 90, which is not possible. Chasing the total down in 13.2 overs is possible, but their batting is not like that," Sehwag said.

“Pakistan are anyway not able to score 160, how will they chase the total down in 14 overs? It will be tough,” he added.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka will square off on Saturday (February 28) at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.