Sahibzada Farhan-led Pakistan set to face Sri Lanka in T20I series from Friday

ISLAMABAD, Oct 08 (APP): Newly-appointed captain Sahibzada Farhan will lead Pakistan in his first T20I series at home when the hosts take on Sri Lanka in the opening match of the three-game series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.

The first T20I will begin at 6:00 pm Pakistan Standard Time (PKT), with the toss scheduled for 5:30 pm. The second and third matches will be played at the same venue on October 11 and 13.

The series marks Farhan’s first assignment as Pakistan’s T20I captain, with the 33-year-old expressing confidence in the team’s blend of youth and experience and vowing to make a winning start to his captaincy.

“It is a huge honour for me and my family to represent Pakistan as captain. I am very excited about this new challenge. We will make our best effort to win this series,” Farhan said while speaking to the media at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Farhan acknowledged the additional pressure that comes with leading the national side but said he would focus on setting an example through his performance, fielding and attitude.

“There is definitely pressure because you are leading from the front and there are ten players behind you. As captain, you have to set an example through your performance, fielding and attitude. But you cannot allow that pressure to get on top of you,” he said.

Farhan said his experience of captaining at the domestic level had helped him understand the responsibilities of leadership.

“It is a great responsibility and challenge to be leading Pakistan and I’m equally excited to do this for the first time in front of our fans. We have got a good blend of youth and experience in the squad with all bases covered. It is going to be an exciting series against Sri Lanka and we hope to entertain the fans,” he added.

Pakistan, who won a silver medal in the recently concluded Asian Games men’s cricket competition, trained for three hours at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Wednesday and will hold another practice session on Thursday evening.

The 15-member Pakistan squad includes uncapped players Razaullah and Muhammad Imran Randhawa, while fast bowler Naseem Shah is in line to make his first T20I appearance since playing against Sri Lanka in February this year.

Abrar Ahmed, ranked second in the ICC T20I bowling rankings, will spearhead Pakistan’s spin attack alongside wrist-spinners Shadab Khan and Sufiyan Moqim and left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas. Saim Ayub’s off-spin will also provide an additional option.

The pace attack includes Naseem Shah, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Razaullah and Muhammad Imran Randhawa.

Khawaja Mohammad Nafay is expected to keep wickets, while the batting line-up has been strengthened by the return of experienced opener Fakhar Zaman. Maaz Sadaqat, Farhan, Hasan Nawaz and Abdul Samad provide further depth.

Asked about the opening combination, Farhan indicated that Fakhar Zaman was likely to partner him at the top of the order.

“We played with Fakhar in the last game and he played a very good innings. The right-left combination is also important in T20 cricket, so most probably we will go with that combination,” he said.

Farhan also stressed that Pakistan would not underestimate Sri Lanka or any other international opponent.

“In international cricket, there is no small or big team. Whether it is Zimbabwe or any other side, there is always pressure. International cricket is not easy, so we have to approach every game seriously,” he said.

He said Pakistan would seek to adopt an aggressive approach in the shortest format.

“T20 cricket has become very fast. We will try to apply that mindset in the series. We have players like Fakhar Zaman and Hasan Nawaz who can play that brand of cricket, so I am confident in my team,” he added.

Asked about former captain Babar Azam, Farhan described him as one of the world’s best players and said the door remained open for his return to the national side.

“Babar is one of the best players. Everyone knows that he has been among the top-ranked players. But I have these 15 best players available to me and my job is to take them onto the field and get the best out of them,” he said.

“Babar can come back at any time. This is the Pakistan team; it does not belong to one person. The doors are open for everyone. Sometimes we will be out and sometimes we will come back.”

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have faced each other 30 times in T20I cricket, with Pakistan winning 18 matches and Sri Lanka 12.

In eight bilateral T20I series between the sides, Pakistan have won four, while three series have ended in draws. Sri Lanka’s only bilateral T20I series victory over Pakistan came in 2019, when they won 3-0 in Lahore.

Friday’s match will also be the 250th international cricket fixture between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis said his team was looking forward to the series and hoped to reverse its recent fortunes against Pakistan.

“It feels good to be back in Pakistan and we are building up well for this three-match T20I series. The contest is expected to be of high intensity and we will look to turn the results around for our team,” he said.

“Both the teams have got talented and skilful players in their respective squads, which adds to the quality of cricket,” he added.

Farhan also appealed to Rawalpindi fans to fill the stadium and support the national side.

“The crowd is always good in Rawalpindi and I hope the stadium will be packed again. If there is no crowd, we don’t enjoy it as much either. The fans are important to us. Hopefully, they will enjoy the series and support us,” he said.

Tickets can be booked online through the PCB’s ticketing platform or purchased from nine designated TCS Express Centres in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The three-match series will be broadcast live on PTV Sports in Pakistan. Fans in Pakistan can also stream the matches through the PCB Live app, while Tapmad and Tamasha are also among the streaming platforms.

The PCB Live app will provide live streaming in the United Kingdom, North America, Caribbean, Europe and Africa.

The broadcast arrangements include Willow TV for North America; Dialog, Peo TV and Siyatha TV in Sri Lanka; TSports in Bangladesh; Tapmad for Bangladesh digital streaming; Cricbuzz in the MENA region; Fox Sports in Australia; ARY TV in the UK; Veto in India; and Sports Central/Sports TV in the rest of the world, excluding Africa and the Caribbean.

Former Pakistan internationals Aamir Sohail, Salman Butt, Urooj Mumtaz Khan and Bazid Khan will form part of the commentary panel, with Sri Lanka’s Roshan Abeysinghe also joining the team.

Pakistan T20I squad: Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Maaz Sadaqat, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan and Sufiyan Moqim.

Sri Lanka T20I squad: Kusal Mendis (captain), Kamil Mishara, Sineth Jayawardena, Lahiru Udara, Sahan Arachchige, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara and Eshan Malinga.