T20 World Cup 2026: USA’s Mohsin believes Associate nations hold advantage against ICC Full members

The pressure of winning the Group ‘A’ fixture against a ‘nothing-to-lose side’ like the USA will be firmly on Pakistan, American leg-spinner Mohammad Mohsin said on Monday, on the eve of their clash in Colombo at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC).

With the USA already one up in the head-to-head against Pakistan, Mohsin said the squad is playing with freedom and enjoying its journey at the T20 World Cup 2026.

“We had a good preparatory camp in Sri Lanka (in January), and that’s going to reflect in tomorrow’s game because we know the conditions a lot better,” a confident Mohsin said.

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The USA stunned Pakistan in the Super Over at the 2024 T20 World Cup, and Mohsin—though not part of that squad—said the team has grown significantly since then.

“This year, the major difference is that our strength has increased, and our skill levels have gone up. We have spoken about carrying the confidence we gained from the last World Cup,” the 29-year-old said.

Mohsin felt that arriving at a T20 World Cup as an associate nation brings its own advantages, particularly when facing Full Member sides.

“I think (Associate Nations) not playing against Full Member teams is actually a disadvantage for them, because they don’t know what’s coming at them. We already know them, we see them throughout the year on TV, through videos, and in analysis. But there isn’t much they can see about us, and that gives us an advantage,” he said.

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The Peshawar-born leg-spinner, who has played with several members of the Pakistan squad, said he has shared his inputs in team meetings.

“But our team analyst and coach have done good work in showing us a lot of analytics on the players,” he added.

Mohsin was full of praise for USA head coach Pubudu Dassanayake, calling him a master of associate cricket. A former Sri Lanka international, Dassanayake has coached Canada, Nepal and the USA with notable success, guiding Canada to the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and helping Nepal qualify for its first ICC World T20 in 2014.

During his first stint with the USA, Dassanayake oversaw the team’s rise from World Cricket League Division Four to ODI status in 2019. Most recently, the 55-year-old helped Canada regain ODI status and qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024—the country’s first appearance at the tournament.

“The amount of planning and discussion we have with him is very beneficial, and you saw that in the last game, where we almost pulled off the biggest upset (against India),” Mohsin said.

Mohsin admitted that losing the opening fixture, despite reducing India to 77 for six, was tough to take, but said the focus remains firmly on the positives, especially in the bowling department.

“In the practice games, we struggled a bit, but our batting came strong. That last game gave us confidence, and in the upcoming matches you’ll see us, as a bowling group, doing much better,” he said.

Published on Feb 09, 2026