Pakistan Departs for Sri Lanka Ahead of T20 World Cup 2026

The Pakistan national cricket team departed for Sri Lanka on Monday ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India from February 7 to March 8.

The 15-member squad is led by captain Salman Ali Agha and includes Babar Azam, Abrar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Muhammad Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, and Usman Tariq.

After arriving in Sri Lanka, the team will take two days of rest before playing a warm-up match against Ireland cricket team on February 4 at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo.

The same venue will host Pakistan’s group-stage matches against Netherlands cricket team on February 7 and the United States cricket team on February 10. Pakistan will also face Namibia cricket team on February 18.

Under the International Cricket Council’s “Fusion Formula,” Pakistan will play all of its matches in Sri Lanka. This arrangement is intended to avoid Pakistan and India touring each other’s countries during ICC events, with both teams competing at neutral venues instead.

If Pakistan qualifies for the semi-finals and final, those matches will be held in Colombo. Otherwise, the semi-final will take place in Kolkata, with the final scheduled for Ahmedabad.

The 2009 champions were originally scheduled to face arch-rivals India cricket team in a group-stage match on February 15. However, on Sunday, the Government of Pakistan confirmed that the Pakistan national cricket team will take part in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 but will not play that fixture.

The decision is widely seen as an attempt to apply financial pressure on the International Cricket Council. Pakistan had earlier reconsidered its participation in the 20-team tournament after the ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland following Bangladesh’s refusal to tour India.