Pakistan won the toss and decided to bowl first against the Netherlands in the inaugural match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground in Colombo on Saturday.
The tournament opener is likely to be affected by intermittent rain, with weather forecasts predicting cloudy conditions throughout the day and an increasing chance of showers as the match progresses.
Pakistan and the Netherlands have faced off twice in the past, with the Men in Green emerging victorious on both occasions, while the Flying Dutchmen remain without a win.
Pakistan have been drawn in Group A alongside India, the USA, Namibia, and the Netherlands. The Green Shirts boycotted their match against arch-rivals India and are now set to face the USA and Namibia on February 10 and 18 at the same venue.
Squad
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan and Usman Tariq.
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c), Colin Ackermann, Noah Croes, Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Fred Klaassen, Kyle Klein, Michael Levitt, Zach Lion-Cachet, Max O’Dowd, Logan van Beek, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren and Saqib Zulfiqar.
This is a developing story and is being updated with further details.
