Pakistan vs England toss - (Source: X.com)
On Tuesday, February 24, Pakistan and England locked horns against each other at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy. It is a crucial game for both teams as England are just a win away from securing a place in the semi-finals. Pakistan, on the other hand, fear crashing out of the tournament as their previous game got abandoned without a ball bowled.
For the crucial game, Harry Brook and Salman Ali Agha walked down the pitch for the toss. The coin flip went in Pakistan's favour and they opted to bat first.
Talking about the team changes, Pakistan have made a solitary change from their rain-hampered game. Shaheen Afridi returns to the team in place of Faheem Ashraf. For England, they are fresh off a win and have not made any changes to their playing XI.
Pakistan vs England: Playing XIs
Pakistan Playing XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Tariq, Salman Mirza
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England Playing XI: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid
Pakistan vs England: Captains Thoughts
Salman Ali Agha: "We are going to bat first. It looks like a good pitch. We will try to put up an above-par score and then try to defend the total. Well, wherever you go, you have to adjust to the conditions. We have to do it very quickly. Because we came here two days ago. We are playing in Sri Lanka"
Harry Brook (England Captain): (On the toss decision) “We would have batted first as well. We love that as well. It’s a fresh pitch, so hopefully it’s going to be a little bit better and give us a good opportunity to chase in the second innings."
"(On the team’s confidence and form) Yeah, we’ve got a lot of confidence. And as you said, we haven’t had our perfect game yet. We’re waiting for that, and hopefully it’s just around the corner."
Why Have Pakistan Dropped Faheem Ashraf for all-important game?
Faheem Ashraf has no injury concerns, but the decision to drop him is purely tactical. Notably, Pakistan have never defeated England in T20 World Cups. Here they had a difficult choice to make between going batting heavy or bowling heavy and it seems that the Pakistan captain chose the latter.
With Shaheen's inclusion, Pakistan can pose more threat to England, who are struggling in this tournament. Therefore, the intention here is that bat first, put runs on the board and then rely on the bowlers to defend the title.
At present, Pakistan have one point in one game and a defeat would nearly throw them out of the tournament in super 8.
Also Read: Explained: How South Africa Paved Way For Other Teams To Diffuse India’s Biggest Weapons
