Pakistan set to face England in four-match T20I series starting tomorrow

Leeds:  The Pakistan men’s cricket team will take on England in the first of the four-match T20I series at Headingley on Wednesday. The remaining three matches will be held in Birmingham (25 May), Cardiff (28 May) and The Oval, London (30 May), before the two teams will depart for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies.

The last T20I meeting between Pakistan and England took place at the MCG in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. England edged past Pakistan by five wickets in the close encounter with Sam Curran earning the player of the final award for his figures of three for 12.

A full-strength Pakistan cricket team is expected to take the field at Headingley on Wednesday at the back of a 2-1 series win against Ireland in Dublin last week. Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi snapped up the player of the match awards in the two victories.

England dominate the T20I rivalry with 19 wins to Pakistan’s nine triumphs, while one game ended as a no-result. England were the winners of the previous bilateral series against Pakistan, clinching the seven T20Is played in Lahore and Karachi 4-3.

Pakistan men’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten joined the side on 19 May for the first assignment of his two-year tenure.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who is the most successful captain in T20Is with 46 wins, said: “I am confident that Pakistan will carry the winning momentum from the Ireland series into the England T20Is. Our 2-1 victory in Dublin showcased the brilliance of our batters and bowlers, while also providing us with learnings as we aim to work on our areas of improvement.

“We’ve had productive training sessions at Headingley and with head coach Gary Kirsten linking up with the squad, we are focused on fine-tuning our strategies and combinations for the four T20Is against England and T20 World Cup.”

Squads (to be selected from):

England: Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley and Mark Wood

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Khan

Series schedule:

22 May – v England, 1st T20I, Leeds

25 May – v England, 2nd T20I, Birmingham

28 May – v England 3rd T20I, Cardiff

30 May – v England, 4th T20I, The Oval