Pakistan face England in the second match of the ODI tri-series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on October 20, with the hosts arriving full of confidence after Salman Agha's century set up a 37-run win over Sri Lanka in the tournament opener.
Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi leads a Pakistan squad built around a top order that delivered in the series opener, with Agha's player-of-the-match century and a middle-order stand with Hasan Nawaz giving the hosts a platform their bowlers defended comfortably. Pakistan's squad does not include regular wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, who remains unavailable for this tour, leaving Babar Azam and the rest of a top order that has looked settled through the England and Sri Lanka assignments to carry more of the batting responsibility.
Harry Brook captains an England squad already missing two significant names: Jos Buttler, who remains sidelined after hamstring surgery, and Jacob Bethell, who is out with a knee injury. England arrive in Rawalpindi on the back of a strong recent run of ODI results, including series wins over Sri Lanka and India, and still field a squad featuring Joe Root, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran and Gus Atkinson.
Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson has said the side has made considerable progress in ODI cricket over the past six months and needs to carry that into matches against two of the stronger sides in this tournament. A second win in three days, this time against a full-strength England attack, would be a significant marker for a Pakistan ODI side still building belief after a mixed run in the format over the past year.
The tri-series is a double round-robin, with the top two sides advancing to the October 31 final at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Pakistan host Sri Lanka and England once each in Rawalpindi before the tournament shifts to Lahore for the remaining league fixtures, meaning an early win over England would put Afridi's side in a strong position heading into the back half of the group stage.
With Agha coming off a century and Pakistan's top order settled, he and Hasan Nawaz are the standout picks from the hosts, while Joe Root and Adil Rashid remain the dependable options from an England squad still finding its best combination without Buttler and Bethell.
Live scores from Rawalpindi are available on SportGod's live matches page.
Squad and schedule details in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked reporting as of October 19, 2026.
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