Pakistan Tour of Sri Lanka 2026 is all set to start from the 7th of January 2026. This is going to be a three-match series, and all matches will be played in the T20I format, as both teams warm up for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which starts from the 7th of February 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. The venue is the same for all three matches as the series ends on the 11th of January 2026.
Both Sri Lanka and Pakistan are in different groups for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Basically, Pakistan is in Group A along with defending champions India, Namibia, the Netherlands, and the United States of America. On the other hand, Sri Lanka is in Group B along with Australia, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Oman. Both teams are expected to get a comfortable place in the next round.
Also check out: Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka Series: No Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan
Pakistan Tour of Sri Lanka 2026: Squads
The Pakistan team have a quite of big names missing from their squad for this series as Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan all players miss out. Salman Ali Agha will continue to lead the team, and Shadab Khan is finally back in the team after being out for six months due to injury. Fakhar Zaman also keeps his place in the team. Sri Lanka is yet to announce their squad for the series.
Full Pakistan squad
- Batters: Abdul Samad, Fakhar Zaman, and Khawaja Nafay
- All-rounders: Salman Agha (C), Saim Ayub, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, and Shadab Khan
- Wicketkeepers: Sahibzada Farhan and Usman Khan
- Bowlers: Abrar Ahmed, Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, and Usman Tariq
Full Sri Lanka squad
- TBA
Full Schedule: Pakistan Tour of Sri Lanka 2026
There will be a lot of three-match series in the series, with the first starting on the 7th, followed by the second on the 9th, and the last T20I will be on 11th January. Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla will be the venue for all three matches, with the match starting at 7 PM local time.
| Date | Day | Opponents | Venue | Time (Local) | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 7, 2026 | Wednesday | Sri Lanka vs Pakistan | Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla | 7:00 PM | 7:00 PM |
| Jan 9, 2026 | Friday | Sri Lanka vs Pakistan | Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla | 7:00 PM | 7:00 PM |
| Jan 11, 2026 | Sunday | Sri Lanka vs Pakistan | Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla | 7:00 PM | 7:00 PM |
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka: Head-to-Head in T20I
Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have played a total of 24 matches against each other in the T20I format. The Pakistan team has enjoyed more wins compared to the Sri Lanka team, as they have won 14 matches out of the 24 matches between the teams. On the other hand, Sri Lanka has won the remaining ten matches. The last time both teams played a T20I series was in 2019/20, and Sri Lanka did a clean sweep as they won the series 3-0.
Match Prediction – Who will win the series before the T20 Men’s World Cup?
When we look at the current situation of both teams, this will be an even battle. Sri Lanka last T20I series was against Zimbabwe before the Asia Cup and they won the series 2-1. At the same time, Pakistan just recently played their T20I series against South Africa, and they won the series 2-1. Pakistan is trying out a few players before they announce their T20 World Cup squad. We are predicting that Sri Lanka will win this series.