Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup 2026 opener at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC), Colombo, with captain Salman Ali Agha citing unusual conditions for Sri Lanka.
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Rain stayed away ahead of the match, but the conditions were hot and humid, with Agha pointing out visible grass and possible moisture on the surface.
“It looks like a fresh pitch and there’s been rain over the last few days, so if there’s any moisture, we want to use that,” Agha said at the toss.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen this much grass in Sri Lanka.”
Pakistan have opted for a three-pronged pace attack, banking on seam-friendly assistance early on. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza and Faheem Ashraf all feature in the playing XI.
Netherlands captain Scott Edwards described the surface as a very good batting wicket, admitting he too would have preferred to bowl first but remained confident in his side’s preparation.
“We’re happy to be batting here,” Edwards said.
“We’ve been in India and Sri Lanka for about a month and a half, so we’re used to the conditions. We’ve got plenty of all-rounders and options with both bat and ball.”
Playing XIs
Pakistan:
Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (capt), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed
Netherlands:
Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Zach Lion-Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Kyle Klein, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren
