Pakistan choose to bowl against Netherlands in T20 World Cup
News Desk
Islamabad: Pakistan won the toss and elected 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) Ground in Colombo on Saturday.
The tournament curtain-raiser could be influenced by weather, with forecasts predicting cloudy conditions and the possibility of intermittent rain as the match progresses.
Pakistan enter the contest with a strong historical advantage, having defeated the Netherlands in both of their previous meetings. The Dutch side will be aiming to register their first-ever win against the Men in Green.
Both teams are placed in Group A, which also features India, the USA, and Namibia. Pakistan will play their remaining group matches against the USA and Namibia on February 10 and 18, respectively, at the same venue. The Green Shirts are not scheduled to play India, having boycotted the fixture against their traditional rivals.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (captain/wicketkeeper), Zach Lion-Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Paul van Meekeren.
