Big picture

Like tandoori prawns at a Japanese dinner, this T20I series is a curious appetiser to the kind of home season that follows for Pakistan. These three T20Is between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi are the only confirmed matches in the format this season, to be followed by ODIs and Test matches.

Barring the recent Asian Games, these are Pakistan’s first meaningful T20Is with a full squad since their lacklustre World Cup campaign in February, and set to be their only ones in a while. As such, it’s difficult to place them in context or imbue them with a sense of purpose beyond a trial run from which some footnotes can be marked for the future. The squad, an amalgamation of performers from that World Cup and the recently concluded Asian Games, where Pakistan played two games, has a whiff of the experimental about it, but then again, that’s perhaps what these games are for.

Sri Lanka’s T20I calendar is fuller, recently coming off a white-ball series in England, and will follow up their tour of Pakistan with another in India early next year. But their T20I side remains in a similar state of flux after crushing defeats in all three games in England; their stand-in captain that series Charith Asalanka does not even make the squad. Kusal Mendis has recovered from the injury that ruled him out in England, and leads the side again.

But new names in a Sri Lanka touring side to Pakistan haven’t been a historical barrier to success. Most famously, Sri Lanka arrived in Pakistan in 2019 with a second-string side when Pakistan were ranked number one, and had won 11 of their past 12 T20I series. They went on to wipe the floor with Pakistan 3-0. A number of players became Sri Lanka regulars in the years that followed, none more famous than Hasaranga himself, who was playing just his second T20I series.

Like Pakistan, Sri Lanka always appear to have enough depth to call upon more talent, and in a curiously scheduled T20I series, both sides have gone back to the well. But as one of the driest monsoon seasons in the subcontinent gives way, neither will want to return parched.

Form guide

Pakistan LWWLW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Sri Lanka WLLLL

In the spotlight

Sahibzada Farhan has had a fascinating career, making his T20I debut in 2018 before being overlooked for six years. All that while, he consistently racked up runs on the domestic circuit, only to get fleeting international opportunities. Those fortunes changed dramatically with the Asia Cup last year, after a rare extended run in the T20I side was capped by his six-hitting prowess against Jasprit Bumrah, which became a sort of curious landmark achievement. A phenomenally successful T20 World Cup followed, where he finished as the highest run-scorer. With Agha’s fortunes going the other way, Farhan has now been catapulted to the T20 captaincy, a notion that was unthinkable 12 months earlier. After all those years, he has one – and likely only one – shot at building a legacy that for years looked set to go unrealised.

Kusal Mendis appears to have taken on plenty of responsibility in this Sri Lankan side, and has just been saddled with more after succeeding Dhananjaya de Silva as Test captain. A frequent – if staccato – captain of the ODI side, Mendis was absent for Sri Lanka’s dismantling in England, but returns to lead the T20I side. In good form and among the most experienced players, Mendis’ steadying hand will be welcome for Sri Lanka cricket. Like Pakistan, they might not have enjoyed a successful World Cup, but Mendis was one of their better performers with three half-centuries, including one in a thrilling win over Australia. This might be a lower-profile occasion, but it does not diminish his value to this side.

Team news

With a squad tailing the unit Pakistan sent to the Asian Games, the hosts are likely to reward performers at that event. Pakistan’s previous T20Is with a conventional, fully available squad came at the largely unsuccessful T20 World Cup earlier this year.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Sahibzada Farhan (capt), 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Maaz Sadaqat, 4 Fakhar Zaman, 5 Khawaja Nafay (wk), 6 Hasan Nawaz, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Naseem Shah/Razaullah, 10 Salman Mirza, 11 Sufiyan Moqim/Abrar Ahmed

Sri Lanka continue to sweat over the fitness of Dushmantha Chameera, which is unfortunate for the visitors, given he is one of the few constants in the Sri Lanka side. A T20I line-up is nowhere near set for a team undergoing something of a transition.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Sineth Jayawardena, 2 Lahiru Udara (wk), 3 Kamil Mishara, 4 Kusal Mendis (capt), 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Sahan Arachchige, 7 Dasun Shanaka/Chamindu Wickramasinghe, 8 Dunith Wellalage, 9 Dushmantha Chameera/Eshan Malinga, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Nuwan Thushara

Pitch and conditions

The long summer has begun giving way to cooler evenings, and seasonal smog hasn’t quite set in yet, making these close to ideal evening playing conditions. Rawalpindi has tended to see high scores, even if, with these being the first international games this season, conditions are something of an unknown.

Stats and trivia