21 February 2026
Yaar, I came across this Yasir Rashid video on SUNO NEWS HD – “SHOCKING & SHAMEFUL: Why Pakistan Lost to India? | T20 World Cup 2026” – and it’s got me nodding along the whole way. No nonsense, straight facts on why we got hammered by 61 runs in Colombo, and it shuts down all the “fixed match” whispers with cold hard reality about cricket’s business side. Let me unfold what he said in my own words, mix in some stats from the game to back it up, and give my take – because this loss wasn’t some conspiracy; it was straight-up bad decisions and ego over brains.
Rashid kicks off debunking the rumors: no, Pakistan didn’t take money to lose. Cricket is a massive industry – ICC revenue from broadcasting, ads, tickets – and we get our cut win or lose. He explains it clearly: TV rights sold for millions, ads paying per second based on viewership (that Indo-Pak clash probably hit 100 million+ viewers worldwide, stats from similar games show peaks over 400 million for 2022). Gate money from tickets (even in Sri Lanka, VIP boxes go for thousands), prize shares distributed regardless. PCB gets fixed match fees (around $40,000 per player per game in World Cups, per ICC reports), plus ad revenue splits. Rashid says billions flow in – and he’s right, ICC’s 2023-27 cycle is worth $3.2 billion in media rights alone. So losses hurt pride, not pockets – the money keeps coming.
But the real meat is why we actually lost. Rashid tears into team selection: fame over form. Babar Azam (just 13 runs off 10 vs India, strike rate under 100 again), Shaheen Afridi (1/34 in 4 overs, leaking 8.5 RPO) – kept in because they’re “stars” for sponsors, not performers. Dropped Salman Mirza (who took 3/20 in the previous match) for more seam-spin balance. Stats back this: our bowling attack used 8 different bowlers vs India, most in a T20I for us, but it diluted focus – only 2 wickets in powerplay, India at 50/1 after 6 overs.
Toss decision? Disaster. Salman Agha won and batted first on a used RPS pitch where second innings batting is tough (average first innings score in Colombo T20s: 148, second: 129 per Cricinfo data). Expected dew, but Rashid says treat it as possibility, not certainty. India batted first, posted 176 (Surya Kumar Yadav’s 50 off 36, smart gap-hitting), we crumbled to 114. Our middle overs batting strike rate? Below 100, while India’s was 130+. Spinners introduced late (seventh bowler Usman Tariq), when the pitch favored straight balls – ball slowing, stopping. Stats: our spinners took 3/58 in 8 overs, but India’s took 4/38 in 8.
Coaching? Rashid roasts the foreign think tank – high-paid (Mike Hesson on $500k+ contract, per reports), but over-specific plans (per-over instructions) left players confused. Data obsession ignoring human elements like confidence – modern cricket flaw. Stats prove it: Pakistan’s win rate vs top teams since 2021? Under 40%, while vs minnows over 70%. Double standards everywhere.
My take: Rashid is spot-on – this loss was self-inflicted, not fixed. Ego in selection (Babar’s average vs India in T20s: 27.5, Shaheen’s economy 7.8), wrong toss (we’ve lost 6/10 batting first in Sri Lanka), poor execution. But the business angle? Eye-opener – cricket’s a billion-dollar game (ICC revenue $2.5b last cycle), so focus on performance, not conspiracies.
Watch it yourself: https://youtu.be/foNIG-OpmPI. Super 8 ahead – fix this mess or we’ll crash out.
You buying the “no fix, just bad cricket” line? Or still suspicious? Comments below.
Murtaza Moiz
@MoizMurtaza
CricSphere Blog
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