Sahibzada Farhan will lead out the Pakistan T20I side for the first time on home soil when the hosts face Sri Lanka in first of the three T20 Internationals on Friday, 9 October at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. It will be the ninth time that the two teams face each other in a bilateral T20I series.
The second and third T20Is will be played on 11 and 13 October at the same venue with the first ball expected to be bowled at 6pm PKT. The coin toss will take place at 5.30pm PKT.
Pakistan, who won Silver Medal in the recently concluded Asian Games men’s cricket event, trained at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Wednesday for three hours and will again fine tune their preparations on Thursday evening.
The 15-member Pakistan T20I squad comprises of two uncapped players Razaullah and Muhammad Imran Randhawa, while fast bowler Naseem Shah is in line to play his first T20I since his last appearance against the same opposition in February earlier this year.
Abrar Ahmad – second on the ICC T20I rankings for bowlers – will form a strong spin bowling contingent with wrist-spinners Shadab Khan, Sufyan Moqim and left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas, while Saim Ayub’s off-spin will also be vital. Apart from Naseem, Pakistan’s pace stocks for the T20I series include Mohammad Salman Mirza, Razaullah and Imran Randhawa.
Khawaja Mohammad Nafay is set to take gloves in the series, while the batting line-up has been bolstered with the addition of experienced Fakhar Zaman. Maaz Sadaqat, skipper Sahibzada and the in-form duo of Hasan Nawaz and Abdul Samad further add strength to the team’s batting.
In total, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have faced each other in 30 T20Is with the former emerging victorious in 18 matches, while the Island nation has secured 12 wins. In the eight bilateral T20I series, Pakistan have won four, while three were drawn. Sri Lanka’s only series win over Pakistan came in 2019 in Lahore when the visitors took the honours 3-0.
The opening match of the series will be the 250th international cricket fixture between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Sahibzada Farhan, Pakistan captain:
“It is a great responsibility and challenge to be leading Pakistan and I’m equally excited to do this for the first time in front of our fans. We have got a good blend of youth and experience in the squad with all bases covered. It is going to be an exciting series against Sri Lanka and we hope to entertain the fans.”
Kusal Mendis, Sri Lanka captain:
“It feels good to be back in Pakistan and we are building up well for this three-match T20I series. The contest is expected to be of high intensity and we will look to make turn the results around for our team. Both the teams have got talented and skillful players in their respective squads, which adds to the quality of cricket.”
Broadcast
The series will be broadcast live on PTV Sports in Pakistan, while fans can stream the action on PCB Live app as well. Tapmad and Tamasha are also among the streamers of the T20I series. The PCB Live app will also live-stream the action in United Kingdom, North America, Caribbean, Europe and Africa region.
Former Pakistan captains Aamir Sohail, Salman Butt and Urooj Mumtaz Khan will be joined by former Pakistan international Bazid Khan in calling the action for the series. Sri Lanka’s Roshan Abeysinghe will also join the commentary team.
Following are the complete broadcast details of the Pakistan v Sri Lanka T20I series:
1- North America: Willow TV (TV & Digital)
2-SriLanka: Dialog, Peo TV, Siyatha TV (TV & Digital)
3. Bangladesh TV – TSports
4. Bangladesh Digital SVOD – Tapmad
5- MENA: Cricbuzz (TV & Digital)
6- Australia: Fox Sports (TV & Digital)
7- UK: ARY (TV Only)
8- India: Veto (Digital)
9-RoW (excluding Africa & Caribbean) – Sports Central / Sports TV
15-member T20I squad:
Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Maaz Sadaqat, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan and Sufiyan Moqim
Team Management:
Naveed Akram Cheema (manager), Mike Hesson (head coach), Shaun Tait (bowling coach), Michael Smith (batting coach), Mansoor Amjad (fielding coach), Muhammad Tahir (Physiotherapist), Grant Luden (strength &conditioning coach), Nabeel Edger Pace (team analyst for Sri Lanka T20I), Usman Hashmi (team analyst for tri-series), Shafqat Shabbir (media manager for Rawalpindi-leg), Syed Nazir Ahmed (media manager for Lahore-leg), Col. Usman Anwari (security manager), Dr. Wajid Ali Rafai (team doctor) and Muhammad Ehsan (masseur)
Sri Lanka T20I squad:
Kusal Mendis (captain), Kamil Mishara, Sineth Jayawardena, Lahiru Udara, Sahan Arachchige, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Eshan Malinga
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