Sri Lanka will be up against Pakistan in the first of the three-match T20I series. This article contains details about Pakistan’s Playing 11 vs Sri Lanka for the opening match of the series.
Pakistan Playing XI vs Sri Lanka- 1st T20I, Pakistan Tour of Sri Lanka 2026:
Openers: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman
Pakistan would aim to carry the form that the team was in in T20I cricket last year in 2026 as well, when they go head to head against Sri Lanka in their own backyard in the first of three matches that they are scheduled to play against them.
The visitors are expected to go into the game with the same plan of playing with batting till number eight, which proved to be successful in 2025.
Pakistan has made a few changes to the bowling department, one of them being the exclusion of Shaheen Afridi, who picked up an injury in the Big Bash League, while the team’s batting remains more or less what it was in the previous T20I assignment.
The Men in Green are expected to begin their innings with the opening pair of Shahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman.
The opener will be banked upon to give a good start to the team and provide a platform for the incoming batters to make the most of by playing in an attacking manner.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Salman Ali Agha (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Khan (wk), Faheem Ashraf
The openers will be followed by a middle order that comprises names that can change the game in favour of Pakistan in the blink of an eye, and the management would hope for them to have a good outing in the series opener against Sri Lanka.
The likes of Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, who is expected to be included in the playing XI for this particular game and bat higher up in the batting order, and captain Salman Ali Agha would back themselves to get going.
Other than the above-mentioned names, Pakistan would aim to make full use of the depth that the team possesses in the batting lineup with the presence of all-rounders like Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf.
Having said that, the top five batters will have to take the responsibility and score the bulk of the runs for the team.
Bowlers: Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmad
As far as Pakistan’s bowling attack is concerned, it has a lot of options, mainly in the spin bowling department, in the form of Shadab Khan, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed, and Mohammad Nawaz, to name some.
However, a lot will depend on the conditions if the visitors decide to test the Sri Lankan batters with spin.
The reason is dew, which is expected to play its part in the game and will make gripping the ball difficult for the spinners.
If the pace remains so, Pakistan might bring in an extra pacer in the playing XI along with Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Salman Mirza.
