A three-match T20I series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka opens at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on October 9, with both sides fielding squads shaped by late changes. Pakistan take the field under a brand-new captain in Sahibzada Farhan, while Sri Lanka arrive without two of their most established white-ball names in Pathum Nissanka and Wanindu Hasaranga. The remaining two matches follow at the same venue on October 11 and 13.
Farhan takes over the T20I captaincy from Salman Ali Agha, with Babar Azam also left out of the T20I squad entirely, though he keeps his place in the separate ODI group named for later in the tour. Farhan's appointment follows his leadership of Pakistan's team at the Asian Games, where the side won a silver medal. His first assignment in the new role is a home series his side will be expected to win, but doing so with a visibly reshaped batting order — minus Babar and with Mohammad Rizwan's place also in question — is a different proposition to leading at a multi-sport event.
With Nissanka sidelined by a right-leg strain and Hasaranga out with lower-back pain, Kusal Mendis leads a Sri Lanka squad that leans on Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth for its frontline spin options. Both injured players are reportedly targeting a return for the ODI tri-series with England that follows from October 18, making this series a lower-risk assignment to manage their fitness around rather than a tour either is expected to sit out entirely.
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium has traditionally offered some assistance to spin and slower bowling as a match wears on, conditions that should suit both sides' spin-bowling options — Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed for the hosts, Wellalage and Theekshana for the tourists. Neither board had confirmed a playing XI at the time of writing; toss and team news will only be known once play gets under way on October 9.
With both sides missing key personnel, value shifts toward depth options: Pakistan's Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman at the top of the order, and Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis and Dasun Shanaka in the middle, all carry a larger share of their side's scoring responsibility than they would with a full-strength XI available. Spin-bowling all-rounders on both sides are worth tracking as differential picks given the ground's history.
Live scores from Rawalpindi are available on SportGod's live matches page, with build-your-team tools on SportGod's free fantasy games and data-backed match forecasts on SportGod's predictions page.
Squad details, the captaincy change and injury information in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked reporting as of October 8, 2026; the playing XIs and pitch behaviour for the October 9 fixture were not yet confirmed at the time of writing.
Try Sport God AI live
Live scores, AI predictions, and fantasy — free during IPL 2026.