Pakistan Elect to Bowl Against Netherlands in T20 World Cup 2026 Opener

Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first against the Netherlands in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo on Sunday. Despite concerns over weather earlier in the week, rain stayed away and the match began under hot and humid conditions.

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said the decision to field first was influenced by the condition of the pitch, which appeared unusually fresh for Sri Lankan conditions. “It looks like a fresh pitch and there’s been rain for a 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 that much grass in Sri Lanka.”

Expecting assistance for seam bowling early on, Pakistan included three fast bowlers in their playing XI — Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza and Faheem Ashraf — alongside a balanced mix of allrounders and spin options.

Netherlands captain Scott Edwards described the surface as “a very good batting wicket” and admitted he too would have preferred to bowl first. However, he remained confident in his side’s preparation. “We’ve been in India and Sri Lanka for a month and a half and are used to the conditions,” Edwards said. “There are plenty of allrounders and options for both bowling and batting.”

The match marks the start of the tournament for both teams, with Pakistan aiming to make early use of the conditions, while the Netherlands look to set a competitive total batting first.

Teams

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