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Pakistan vs Netherlands - (Source: X.com)
On Tuesday, February 10, Pakistan will lock horns against the USA for match 12 of the T20 World Cup 2026. Both teams will play their second match of the tournament. The Agha Salman and his men are fresh off a win, but the USA suffered a defeat against the hosts, India.
Interestingly, despite the win, Pakistan are low on confidence because they narrowly escaped an upset against the Netherlands. USA, on the other hand, showed courage and a great show against India, which is why, despite the defeat, the Monank Patel-led side are high on confidence.
Also, for the unversed, the last time these two sides met in a T20 World Cup was in 2024, where the USA handed Pakistan an upset that got the Men in Green crash out of the tournament early on.
Pakistan vs USA Preview
For Pakistan, their top-order clicked against the Netherlands. Sahibzada Farhan nearly scored a fifty, while Saim Ayub got early runs and picked up two wickets. The middle-order was a big issue for Pakistan as they were in a winning position, but Babar Azam, Usman Khan, and Shadab Khan failed to seal the win for their side, and courtesy of Faheen Ashraf’s cameo, Pakistan snatched a win out of the jaws of defeat.
Fans are concerned whether Babar Azam will be dropped because Fakhar Zaman sat out against Netherlands and Azam failed to grab the opportunity and scored 15 (18), which featured a solitary four.
Therefore, Pakistan are expected to make a few changes, shaking up the bowling order as well, because the Dutch managed to pile up 147 runs on the board. Hence, this article will shed light on Pakistan's probable playing XI for their upcoming match against USA.
Pakistan Playing XI vs Team B- Match 12
Openers and Top Order (Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha)
Pakistan have one of the most explosive top-order batters. Sahibzada Farhan scored 47 (31), while Saim Ayub provided the start with 24 off 13. Meanwhile, Salman Ali Agha struggled and scored 12 off 8.
However, Pakistan captain has promoted himself at No.3 and since then, he has massively worked on his strike-rate. Agha scored 120 runs in three innings, with a strike-rate of 171.43. Meanwhile, Saim Ayub is also helping with the ball and picked up two wickets against Netherlands.
Middle Order and All Rounders (Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz)
As mentioned above, Babar Azam struggled with the bat, but is likely to get one more chance before Pakistan actually replaces him with Fakhar Zaman in the team. Meanwhile, Usman Khan scored a duck against Netherlands, but he is the star keeper, which is why he will also continue to be in the team.
Shadab Khan was good with the ball as he bowled an economical spell of 0/26. However, Shadab struggled with the bat and scored 8 (12). Rest Mohammad Nawaz will retain his place and he picked up two crucial wickets.
Bowlers (Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed)
Spinners were effective with the ball in Colombo and Pakistan is likely to make one change. Salman Mirza is expected to be benched to make way for Naseem Shah. Notably, Mirza took a three-wicket haul, but Pakistan have a habit of of resting their bowlers. Therefore, Naseem Shah is likely to get a match in place of Salman Mirza.
Rest, Shaheen Afridi, looked off colour and leaked 28 runs in his three overs, picking up a solitary wicket. Abrar Ahmed also picked up a couple of wickets. Notably, Faheem didn't come to bowl, but played a crucial cameo of 29 (11)
Pakistan Playing XI vs USA- Match 12, T20 World Cup 2026
Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (C), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (WK), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed
