The Pakistan vs Sri Lanka ODI tri-series has begun in Rawalpindi, with Sri Lanka winning the toss and choosing to bowl first on Sunday while young wicket-keeper-batter Saad Baig earned his first One-day International cap for the hosts at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Toss, pitch and Pakistan’s XI
Sri Lanka’s decision to field means Pakistan will bat first in the opening fixture of the seven-match tournament, which also features England and concludes on October 31. Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi leads a pace-heavy attack that includes Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, with all-round support from Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas and Faheem Ashraf.
Pakistan’s named XI is Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Saad Baig, Hasan Nawaz, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf. The first three matches stay in Rawalpindi before the competition shifts to Lahore for the remaining league games and the final at Gaddafi Stadium.
Shaheen has framed the series as part of a longer rebuild toward next year’s 50-over World Cup, saying the side has spent recent home ODIs building combinations and is now preparing wickets with more lateral movement and bounce, closer to conditions expected in South Africa.
Saad Baig’s debut and who misses out
Baig, a former Pakistan under-19 captain, was preferred to fellow wicket-keeper Ghazi Ghori, who had already made his ODI and Test debuts earlier this year. Baig’s selection follows a strong 2025-26 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy season in which he scored 1,000 runs in the country’s premier first-class competition.
Wrist spinners Shadab Khan and Sufyan Moqim were ruled out of this first Pakistan vs Sri Lanka ODI through illness. The Pakistan Cricket Board said both are under the medical staff’s care, their progress will be monitored, and they will be considered again once fit.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Recently: Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 2–1 in a three-match T20I series at the same Rawalpindi venue.
- Sunday: Sri Lanka win the toss and bowl first; Saad Baig debuts in the ODI tri-series opener.
- Next in Rawalpindi: the first three tri-series matches are scheduled at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
- Later in Lahore: remaining league fixtures and the final move to Gaddafi Stadium, with the final set for October 31.
- After the ODIs: Pakistan and Sri Lanka are also due to play a two-match Test series.
The tri-series uses a double round-robin: each side meets the other two twice, and the top two teams advance to the October 31 final. For fans following the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka ODI live, official score updates from the ground remain the surest way to track the chase once Pakistan’s innings is under way.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Aaj Rawalpindi mein Pakistan aur Sri Lanka ka ODI tri-series ka pehla match chal raha hai. Sri Lanka ne toss jeet kar pehle bowling chuni hai, is liye Pakistan pehle batting kare ga. Saad Baig pehli baar Pakistan ki ODI team mein khel rahe hain. Score aur result ke liye live updates dekhein—yeh series October 31 tak chalegi.
