Suryakumar Yadav bowled to prepare for Usman Tariq [Source: AFP Photos]Millions across the globe are in anticipation of the high-octane India vs Pakistan clash at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday, February 15. A lot of the fans and neutrals are also waiting to see the new Pakistan x-factor bowler, Usman Tariq, bowl against India with his unique and much-talked-about bowling action.To prepare for his different action, which has an uncomfortable but consistent pause and is also alleged to be illegal by many, Suryakumar Yadav was seen bowling in the nets on Saturday. While the rest of the bowling action looked normal, India looked to be preparing for the pause, which could unsettle or rush the batter into a shot. Seeing the Indian captain bowl in a unique style on the penultimate day of the match, around the backlash against Tariq, takes us back to 2014. Yadav had found himself in a similar situation to the Pakistani spinner and could have almost gotten banned from bowling in any competitive cricket. When Suryakumar Yadav’s action was reported as suspect The incident happened at the Champions League T20 Final 2014 when Kolkata Knight Riders, who had won the IPL that year face Chennai Super Kings. Batting first, they scored 180/6, including a silver duck for Yadav. During the second innings, in a stacked bowling attack of Pat Cummins, Andre Russell, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla, the now Indian captain stepped up and bowled the best spell of the innings. Sunil Narine was banned from the match due to his illegal action, and Surya had to bowl off-spin and he did his job well, ending with 0/21 (3).Unfortunately, Suresh Raina’s 109* (62) with 6 fours and 8 sixes was too much for the Knight Riders, and they lost by 8 wickets and 9 balls left. Did Suryakumar Yadav chuck? After the match, umpires Rod Tucker, Kumar Dharmasena and S Ravi went through Yadav’s three-over spell and observed that a flex of the elbow in his action was beyond the acceptable limit. He was immediately put on the warning list by the BCCI and had an option to have an official assessment from the BCCI’s suspect bowling committee. Any such incident after that could have seen him get suspended from bowling in any competitive cricket organised by the BCCI, including the IPL, until he is cleared. In the aftermath, he has never bowled in the IPL since 2014. However, he once rolled his arms in Sri Lanka during their 2024 series and picked 2/5 in a single over. Out of the limelight, he occasionally bowls for Mumbai in domestic cricket. He has picked 24 FC wickets in 50 innings, 6 List A wickets in 18 innings and 8 T20 wickets in 11 innings. Focus on spinners in India vs Pakistan With the match being played at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, the pitch is expected to offer a bit of assistance and grip to the spinners from both teams. The previous matches of the ongoing tournament have clearly shown that an extra spinner is a good option here. India could be seen replacing Arshdeep Singh with Kuldeep Yadav in the XI to add another x-factor bowler alongside Varun Chakravarthy in the middle overs. Pakistan, on the other hand, have ample options in Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Tari, Shadab Khan and Salman Agha to play with in the big encounter.
