Pakistan will play Netherlands in their first game on Feb 7 in Colombo.
Pakistan has been placed in Group A along with India, the USA, the Netherlands, and Namibia. As per the hybrid model, Pakistan will play all of its matches in Sri Lanka. They will begin their T20 World Cup 2026 against the Netherlands on 7 February in Colombo.
On Sunday morning, the PCB Director of High Performance and member of the men's national selection committee, Aqib Javed, Pakistan's T20I captain, Salman Ali Agha, and white-ball head coach Michael Hesson, held a press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Sahibzada Farhan, and Usman Tariq have been called up to the Pakistan squad for the first time for a mega-event.
Ace batter Babar Azam was included in the Pakistan squad, along with Abrar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Usman Khan.
Haris Rauf was the surprise exclusion from the Pakistan squad for the ICC event.
Each of the 20 teams in the event will play four group games before moving on to the Super Eight and Knockout Stage, which will take place from February 7 to March 8.
Pakistan is also poised to face Australia in a three-match T20I series at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on January 29, 31, and February 1, with preparations beginning today.
Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup:
Salman Ali Agha (C), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (WK), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (WK), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (WK), and Usman Tariq.
(PCB inputs)