T20 WC: Afridi replaces Ashraf as Pakistan opt to bat vs England
Pallekele, Feb 24 : Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat against England in the Group 2 match of the Super 8s of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka, on Tuesday. Pakistan have dropped Faheem Ashraf and brought in Shaheen Afridi in the playing eleven, whereas England are playing with the same eleven from the last match against Sri Lanka.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said, "We are going to bat first. It looks like a good pitch. We will try to put up an above-par score and then try to defend the total. Well, wherever you go, you have to adjust to the conditions. We have to do it very quickly. Because we came here two days ago. We are playing in Sri Lanka, and the conditions remain pretty much the same. We know what we are going to get here. Yeah, we have one change. Faheem Ashraf is missing out. Shaheen is coming in. Well, we have a very good spin attack. To be honest, we also have a very good fast bowling attack. In particular, if we need a fast bowler, one can add that, while if we need a spinner, I can add that as well. It is an added responsibility whenever you captain a team. I am excited at the same time. Right now, I am enjoying it. I am really looking forward to this game."
England captain Harry Brook said, “We would have batted first as well. We love that as well. It’s a fresh pitch, so hopefully it’s going to be a little bit better and give us a good opportunity to chase in the second innings. The same team. Yeah, we’ve got a lot of confidence. And as you said, we haven’t had our perfect game yet. We’re waiting for that, and hopefully it’s just around the corner. Yeah, we’ve obviously got a lot of data and footage. We’ve managed to look at him quite a bit. But he’s not the only one - we’ve studied all their bowlers and batters. We’re very well prepared, and hopefully we can have a good night. That’d be lovely, wouldn’t it? But you never know in T20 cricket. It’s such a fickle game. We’ve just got to go out there, try to play our best cricket, and stick to our processes as much as possible.”
Playing XIs:
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Tariq, Salman Mirza
England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid