T20 World Cup: Pakistan elect to bat first against England in Pallekele
February 24, 2026 06:53 pm
Pakistan skipper Salman Agha won the toss and opted to bat first against England in the high-stakes Super Eight round encounter of the 2026 T20 World Cup at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.
Pakistan has brought back star pacer Shaheen Afridi into the playing XI, with Faheem Ashraf making way for the left-arm quick.
England, meanwhile, has named an unchanged XI from their previous Super 8 match against Sri Lanka.
At the toss Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said:
“We’re going to bat first. It looks like a good pitch and we want to put up an above-par score and then try to defend it. It’s our first game of the tournament here in Pallekele, but we’ve been playing most of our cricket in Colombo. Wherever you go, adjusting to conditions is key, and we’ve had to do that quickly after coming back just a couple of days ago. Having said that, conditions across Sri Lanka are generally similar, so we know what to expect today. From the rained-off game, Faheem misses out and Shaheen comes back into the side.”
England captain Harry Brook said:
“We would have batted as well. It’s a fresh pitch compared to what we played on a couple of days ago, so hopefully it’s a bit better and gives us a good chance to chase later on. We’re going in with the same team and there’s a lot of confidence in the group. We know we can improve, but the results have been encouraging and we feel a big performance isn’t far away. We’ve done our homework on the opposition, including the unorthodox options like Usman Tariq. There’s plenty of footage and data available, so we’re well prepared. If we win tonight, a semi-final spot is within reach, but T20 cricket can turn quickly. We’ll focus on playing our best cricket and sticking to our processes.”
Playing XI
Pakistan:
Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan(w), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq.
England:
Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook(c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.
