Sri Lanka Will face Pakistan in the first match of the three-match T20 series. This article contains details about the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka playing 11 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 will aim to maintain the form that the team had last year in T20I cricket, also in 2026, when they will face off against Sri Lanka in their own backyard in the first of the three matches that they are scheduled to play against them.
The visitors are expected to go into the game with the same plan of batting at number eight that proved successful in 2025.
Pakistan have made a few changes in the bowling department, one of them being the exclusion of Shaheen Afridi, who was injured in the Big Bash League, while the team’s batting remains more or less the same as it was in the previous T20I assignment.
It is expected that the Men in Green will start their innings with the opening pair of Shahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman.
The opening batsman will have the responsibility of giving a good start to the team and providing a platform to the incoming batsmen to make the most of it by playing aggressively.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Saeem Ayub, Shadab Khan, Salman Ali Aga (captain), Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf.
The openers will be followed by a middle order which will include names who can change the game in Pakistan’s favor in the blink of an eye, and the management is hopeful that they will perform well in the series opener against Sri Lanka.
Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, who is expected to be included in the playing XI for this particular game and bat higher up the order, and captain Salman Ali Aga will be supporting themselves going forward.
Apart from the above-mentioned names, Pakistan will aim to make full use of the depth present in the team’s batting lineup with the presence of all-rounders like Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf.
Having said that, the top five batsmen will have to take the responsibility and score huge numbers of runs for the team.
Bowlers: Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed
As far as Pakistan’s bowling attack is concerned, it has a lot of options, mainly in the spin bowling department, which includes Shadab Khan, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz.
However, a lot will depend on the conditions if the visitors decide to test the Sri Lankan batsmen with spin.
This is due to dew, which is expected to play its part in the game and will make it difficult for the spinners to get a grip on the ball.
If the pace continues like this, Pakistan can bring in an additional fast bowler in the playing eleven along with Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Salman Mirza.
