Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Netherlands in their opening Group A match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Saturday.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha said the team decided to bowl after assessing pitch conditions. He explained that there might be early moisture in the surface, which could help fast bowlers.
“If there’s any moisture, we want to use that. We are playing three seamers. They are a very good side. We want to execute our plans,” he said at the toss.
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The Netherlands captain Scott Edwards said his team would also have preferred to bowl first but was comfortable batting. “We would have bowled first as well, but happy to bat first,” he said.
Edwards added that his team had been preparing in India and Sri Lanka for the past month and a half and had several all-rounders available for balance.
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Pakistan are placed in Group A along with India, Namibia and the United States. With only four matches in the group stage, teams will likely need at least three wins to qualify for the semi-finals. This makes every match crucial in the early stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Pakistan, champions in 2009 and two-time runners-up, entered the tournament amid controversy after forfeiting their marquee group match against India. Meanwhile, Bangladesh were removed from the tournament after refusing to play matches in India, with Scotland stepping in as replacements.
India are scheduled to open their campaign later today against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. West Indies will face Scotland at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in another group match.
Pakistan Playing XIs:
Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed.
READ: Where to watch ICC T20 world cup 2026 Live?
Netherlands Playing XIs:
Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (c & wk), Zach Lion Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Paul van Meekeren.
Full Squads
Netherlands Squad:
Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Zach Lion Cachet, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (wk/c), Noah Croes, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Paul van Meekeren, Timm van der Gugten, Saqib Zulfiqar, Fred Klaassen.
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Pakistan Squad:
Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Agha (c), Khawaja Nafay (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq.
Where to watch T20 World Cup 2026 Live
Tapmad will stream the T20 World Cup 2026, allowing cricket fans to watch all the live action through its website and mobile application.
