Pakistan vs Netherlands: 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, played at SSC Stadium in Colombo. The weather remained clear, and the match started with hot and humid conditions.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha stated that the decision was made on the basis of the pitch. He further mentioned that it was a new kind of pitch with more grass than normal on a Sri Lankan pitch. With rain being around over the past few days, Pakistan wanted to make use of any moisture that might be available on the pitches. Hence, they opted to include three fast bowlers in the playing XI, i.e., Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza, and Faheem Ashraf.
The Netherlands skipper, Scott Edwards, said that the pitch looked very good to bat on. While he had preferred to bowl first, he said his team was comfortable with batting as they had spent over a month in India and Sri Lanka on this tour. Edwards further said that his side had many all-rounders in the squad, a fact that was a positive as from both a batting and a bowling perspective.
Pakistan’s playing XI includes Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, and Abrar Ahmed.
The Netherlands lineup features Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards, Bas de Leede, Zach Lion-Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Kyle Klein, Aryan Dutt, and Paul van Meekeren.
The match marks the official start of the T20 World Cup 2026.
