Reporting snapshot · 18 October 2026 (Asia/Karachi). Pakistan face Sri Lanka at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium at 1pm on Sunday in the opener of the seven-match one-day international tri-series that also includes England, before the round-robin moves to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and the final on 31 October. This article draws on Saturday's pre-series press conferences in Pindi (Shaheen Afridi, Kusal Mendis, Harry Brook) and the ICC's published schedule, and is a dated snapshot: it does not track the match result, which a separate result report will record.
What is on at 1pm on Sunday
Pakistan play Sri Lanka at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium at 1pm on Sunday in the opening fixture of a seven-match one-day international tri-series that also features England, The Express Tribune reported on Saturday, citing the pre-series press conference at the venue. The match is the first of three round-robin games in Rawalpindi; the tour then moves to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for the remaining fixtures and the 31 October final, as the International Cricket Council’s schedule confirms.
Sunday’s fixture matters beyond the one result. The ICC drew Pakistan and India into the same group for the 2027 men’s World Cup on 1 October, the ICC noted in the same squad release, and the tri-series is the most prominent 50-over cricket Pakistan has staged since the 2025 Champions Trophy. England open their campaign against Pakistan at the same Rawalpindi venue on 20 October, with the top two sides in the round-robin qualifying for the Lahore final.
Shaheen’s pre-match read on Babar and Pakistan
Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi used Saturday’s pre-series press conference to back Babar Azam and frame the planning around next year’s World Cup. “Our focus is on the World Cup. We have been trying to build the team since the previous series, keeping the conditions in South Africa in mind,” Shaheen told reporters, as The Express Tribune reported.
Shaheen dismissed any notion that Babar was under pressure after modest returns in Test and first-class cricket. “Look, firstly there is no pressure on Babar. He is our main player, and he is the backbone of this team,” Shaheen stated, according to Geo News. He pointed to Babar’s 125 runs in three innings at 41.66 in Pakistan’s 2-1 ODI series win over Australia earlier in the year as evidence that the right-hander remained in form.
Babar’s recent first-class return after nine years — two matches for the OGDCL in the President’s Trophy Grade-I — produced only 58 runs in four innings at 14.5, as Geo News reported. Shaheen said such fluctuations were “part and parcel” of cricket and that Babar remained a player younger cricketers should learn from.
Sri Lanka and England at the same press conference
Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis used his slot to stress World Cup plans. “We have plans in place towards the World Cup and I hope my charges will show some good progress,” Mendis said, as The Express Tribune reported. Sri Lanka’s form has been mixed: they lost the first two T20 internationals in Pindi before an eight-wicket win in the third.
Pathum Nissanka’s absence was confirmed on 15 October, when Sri Lanka Cricket said Nissanka had been ruled out with a left hamstring injury and called up Lahiru Udara. The squad had been confirmed on 4 October with Mendis as captain and Charith Asalanka dropped.
England captain Harry Brook is familiar with Pakistan conditions from a Lahore Qalandars PSL stint. “Playing in the PSL helped me a lot in international cricket,” Brook said, as The Express Tribune reported. He acknowledged England’s ODI squad lacks experience and called for batting-friendly pitches in the round-robin.
England arrived in Islamabad on Friday morning and trained at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday, as the team’s earlier-arrival report noted. Brook’s squad was finalised on 1 October, with Adil Rashid and Sam Curran returning from injury and Mason Crane winning a first ODI cap nine years on from his only Test appearance. Jofra Archer has been rested; Jordan Cox stepped in behind the stumps after Jos Buttler’s hamstring injury.
Where this opener fits in Pakistan’s calendar
Sunday’s match is the start of three consecutive home international series Pakistan are hosting through November. The first — a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka — ended with a 2-1 Pakistan win on 12 October, with Maaz Sadaqat’s 96 off 51 and Imran Randhawa’s 3/11 in four overs headlining the result. Several players from that squad — including Sadaqat, Salman Mirza and Abrar Ahmed, the ICC’s current No 1-ranked T20I bowler — feature in the broader white-ball group whose form will be read against the ODI series too.
What is still uncertain
Three things remain unsettled heading into the 1pm start.
First, Pakistan’s final XI. Shaheen did not name the eleven on Saturday, and the side will need to settle whether the recently reset T20I structure under Sahibzada Farhan — which dropped Babar Azam and Salman Ali Agha from the T20I squad — carries across into the 50-over side.
Second, England’s XI for 20 October. With Buttler injured and Archer rested, England will need to settle on a wicketkeeper-batter and a fourth seamer. Jordan Cox is the most likely starter behind the stumps after his 76 off 52 in the series decider at The Oval, but the ICC’s squad note flags Tom Banton as another option.
Third, the security and logistics backdrop. The tri-series sits inside a busy political news cycle for Pakistan, with the federal government engaged in a standoff with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government. The PCB has not publicly addressed whether the security environment will affect the schedule. Matches are scheduled to proceed as published; England’s Friday arrival suggests both boards expect that to hold.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness coverage. The cited pages were reviewed on 18 October 2026 (Asia/Karachi). Saturday's pre-series press conference was carried by Tribune and Geo with overlapping but non-identical quotes; the ICC's squad note and the fixture list provide the structural frame. The limitation at the time of writing is that this is a pre-match snapshot: figures for toss, first innings and the chase will be reflected in a separate result report.
- The Express Tribune — "Pakistan seek solid start against Sri Lanka"17 October 2026 · Saturday pre-series press conference at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, with quotes from Shaheen Shah Afridi, Kusal Mendis and Harry Brook; the 1pm start, the Rawalpindi–Lahore round-robin schedule and the 31 October final at the Gaddafi Stadium.
- Geo News — "'No pressure on Babar': Shaheen hails star batter ahead of ODI tri-series"17 October 2026 · Shaheen's defence of Babar's recent Test and domestic returns, his reference to the Australia ODI series, the breakdown of Babar's figures in West Indies, England and the President's Trophy Grade-I, and the framing that inconsistent returns are part of cricket.
- International Cricket Council — "England name reshuffled squad for Pakistan tri-series"1 October 2026 · Confirms Brook as England's one-day captain, the 16-player squad, the 18 October opener at Rawalpindi, the round-robin schedule, the 31 October final at Gaddafi Stadium, and the 2027 World Cup group draw that places Pakistan and India together.
- The Express Tribune — "England arrive in Pakistan for ODI tri-series"16 October 2026 · Confirms the team's arrival at Islamabad International Airport on the morning of 16 October, the PCB welcome at the team hotel, the Saturday training at Rawalpindi and the named 16-player England squad.
- Geo News — "Sri Lanka's Nissanka ruled out of ODI tri-series featuring Pakistan, England"15 October 2026 · Confirms Nissanka's left-hamstring injury ruling him out, the Lahiru Udara replacement, and the squad list that was set at the time of the announcement.
- KhabarWire — "Sri Lanka name 16-member squad for Pakistan-England tri-series from 18 October"5 October 2026 · Earlier KhabarWire read on Sri Lanka's squad confirmation, Kusal Mendis's appointment as captain, and Charith Asalanka's omission after the England ODI tour.
- KhabarWire — "Maaz Sadaqat's 96 and Imran Randhawa's 3/11 seal Pakistan's 2-0 T20I series win over Sri Lanka"12 October 2026 · Pakistan's 2-1 T20I series win over Sri Lanka in Pindi, the form of Sadaqat, Randhawa and the white-ball group that frames the ODI squad.
- KhabarWire — "Abrar Ahmed becomes world No 1 T20I bowler, first Pakistan spinner in five years"24 September 2026 · The ICC T20I rankings context that puts Abrar Ahmed, Sadaqat and Salman Mirza in the white-ball group whose form will be read against the ODI series.
