Pakistan have made three changes for the SL vs PAK T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eights match.
Pakistan are set to face Sri Lanka in their last Super Eights match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. This is a must-win game for Salman Ali Agha and Co. as they eye a dominant victory to make their way through to the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals. But the team has made three changes in their playing XI, which has seen their key all-rounder, Saim Ayub, miss out on the all-important fixture.
Sri Lanka: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (C), Khawaja Nafay, Usman Khan (WK), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, and Usman Tariq.
Pakistan: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara (WK), Charith Asalanka, Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka (C), Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, and Dilshan Madushanka.
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Pakistan have brought back Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, and Khawaja Nafay in their line-up against Sri Lanka, replacing former captain Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, and Salman Mirza. Notably, the 23-year-old has endured a rough patch with the willow, scoring only 70 runs in the tournament so far. He was not very effective with the ball as well, scalping five wickets in six appearances.
Instead, the side have opted to promote their usual opener, Fakhar Zaman, who had hit a 16-ball 25 while coming in at No.5 in their previous fixture against Pakistan. This also made room for the inclusion of leg-spinner Abrar, who has bagged three scalps in as many matches.
The strategical move of opening the innings with Fakhar and Sahibzada Farhan has proved to work well for the 2009 champions. The fierce opening duo has put up a stellar 71-run partnership in seven overs so far.
According to ICC, Pakistan will need to beat the co-hosts by a huge margin of more than 65 runs to surpass the net run rate of New Zealand and advance to the semi-finals. At the time of writing, both of the batters have looked set to pile up a mammoth total in the SL vs PAK T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eights fixture.
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