Pakistan Launches ICC T20 World Cup Campaign Against Netherlands in Sri Lanka

Colombo, 6 February 2026: Salman Ali Agha will be looking to carry his side’s winning momentum when he captains Pakistan in the 10th edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which kicks off on Saturday against Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club. The tournament runs from 7 February to 8 March, with the Super 8s beginning on 22 February and semi-finals scheduled for 4 and 5 March.

Pakistan, who were runners-up in the 2025 Asia Cup, have entered the event with a record of 13 T20Is played since the tournament. They have won ten matches while only losing three, most recently securing their first-ever T20I clean sweep over Australia at Gaddafi Stadium.

The Pakistan team has included some of its former World Cup stars in previous editions such as Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, and Usman Khan. Salman Ali Agha will be making his debut at this mega event.

The team leader stated, “We’ve come here to win the tournament like every other team and expect our fans to support us as they always have. We’ll give our best to win this World Cup. Since we lost only a few matches recently after winning three bilateral series against Australia, we hope to continue that success in the T20 World Cup.”

Pakistan has reached the semi-finals in four of their previous five ICC Men’s T20 World Cup appearances, finishing as runners-up twice (in 2007 and 2022) and once in 2009. In total, Pakistan has played fifty-one matches in the tournament and won thirty.

The Pakistani squad comprises Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay as wicketkeeper, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan as wicketkeeper, and Usman Tariq.

In the initial group stages, Pakistan will be competing against India, Namibia, Netherlands, and the United States in Group A. Groups B through D consist of other participating nations including Australia, Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, England, Italy, Nepal, Scotland, West Indies, Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.