Pakistan walked out for a T20 international without their best-known names for the first time in years. Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and former captain Salman Ali Agha were all missing from the side that faced Sri Lanka under lights at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday. Leading them instead was Sahibzada Farhan, in his first match as full-time T20I captain.
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat in the first of three T20Is. Naseem Shah sprayed a few deliveries down the leg side, then removed Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis for 1 in the opening over. Debutant Mohammad Imran Randhawa took the catch at third man.
Randhawa struck with the ball as well. He had Kamil Mishara caught by Fakhar Zaman for 6, and Sri Lanka slipped to 18 for 2 in the fourth over. His first two overs in international cricket cost just nine runs. Pakistan’s second debutant, Razaullah, came on next, and the visitors were 24 for 2 after 4.1 overs. The new names had given Farhan an early hold on the game.
(More to follow)
