DHAKA, May 28, 2025 (BSS) - Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha won the toss and elected to bat first against Bangladesh in the three-match T20 International series opening game today at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Bangladesh came into the series on the back of their shocking 2-1 series defeat to ICC associate nation United Arab Emirates (UAE) but its captain Liton Das insisted that they are still capable of beating Pakistan.

They stuck to almost same playing XI that played the last two matches against UAE, meaning Mehidy Hasan who returned to the squad, had to wait for his place.

Pakistan, on the other hand, fielded a young team as they look to build a team for the 2026 T20 World Cup. They had rested the star batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan along with pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi.

But most of the Pakistan have been in form as evidenced in their performance in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Pakistan have managed to win only three of their last 13 T20Is, two against minnows Zimbabwe, and slumped to eighth in the T20I rankings since the 2024 T20 World Cup.

In contrast, in this period, Bangladesh, which are ranked ninth, have won just four of their last 12 T20Is and lost series against lower-ranked United States (2024) and UAE earlier this month.

The two teams met 19 times in T20 format with Pakistan winning 16 and losing just three. Bangladesh won the last match between the two sides but that was an Asian Games competition where both teams sent their second string side. However, that was considered as an International T20 game.

Line Ups:

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Liton Das (capt), Towhid Hridoy, Mahedi Hasan, Jaker Ali (wk), Shamim Patwari, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam.

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris (wk), Salman Agha (capt), Hasan Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Hassan Ali, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.