Colombo: Pakistan will open their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign in a group stage clash against the Netherlands at the Sinhala Sports Club Stadium on Saturday.
Reports suggest that Saim Ayub and Khawaja Nafe are likely to open the batting for the Men in Green.
Salman Ali Agha, Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza and Abrar Ahmed have been included in the playing XI.
The line-up sees significant changes, with Faqar Zaman and Usman Tariq expected to drop out of the opener.
After a 3-0 win in the recently concluded home T20I series against Australia, the green shirts are looking to make their mark in the upcoming tournament.
Pakistan play their remaining two group matches at the same venue: against USA on February 10 and Namibia on February 18.
Historically, Pakistan and Netherlands have met twice in T20Is and Pakistan won both the matches. The Flying Dutchmen are still chasing their first win against the Men in Green.
Pakistan playing XI for Netherlands team. Saim Ayub, Khawaja Nafe (wk), Salman Ali Agha (c), Babar Azam, Shatab Khan, Usman Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza and Abrar Ahmed
Pakistan Team: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faqar Zaman, Khawaja Nafe, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shatab Khan, Usman Khan and Usman Khan.