sarfraz ahmed
Sarfraz Ahmed is Pakistan's T20 captain and a key player for the team Getty

Pakistan take on West Indies in the first Twenty20 game at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on 23 September (Friday).

Where to watch

Match starts at 5pm BST. There is no live coverage of the game in the UK.

Overview

Pakistan start their home summer with West Indies travelling to the United Arab Emirates to play three T20 Internationals, three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Test matches in a tour lasting almost one and a half months.

Pakistan who have been using the Middle East as their home venue, come into this clash after having a mixed tour of England where they drew the Test matches 2-2, won the solitary T20 game and were comprehensively thrashed 4-1 in the five-match ODI series.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), in order to build a new T20 squad for the future, installed the impressive Sarfraz Ahmed as captain and have tried to build the side around experienced players like Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir and Wahab Riaz.

A number of youngsters have been given a chance to prove themselves while Umar Akmal has returned to the squad. They come into this game as underdogs.

kieron pollard
Kieron Pollard is one of the most destructive players in the shorter formats of the game Getty

West Indies are one of the most dangerous teams in T20 cricket and are the current world champions. Ranked No 3 in the world with 125 points, the Caribbeans come into this clash after an impressive 1-0 series win over India.

West Indies, like their opponents, have a young and inexperienced captain in Carlos Brathwaite and in Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Marlon Samuels, Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree have players who are capable of winning games on their own.

The visitors have also put faith in youngsters Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran and Kesrick Williams. West Indies will be without key all-rounder Andre Russell who withdrew from the squad due to personal reasons.

The current world T20 champions are the favourites to win not only the opening game but also the three-match series.

Prediction

West Indies to win

Betting odds (ladbrokes)

  • Pakistan to win: 6/5
  • West Indies to win: 4/6

Team news

Pakistan

Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c&wk), Khalid Latif, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Saad Nasim, Rumman Raees, Hasan Ali.

West Indies

Squad: Carlos Brathwaite (c), Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher (wk), Jason Holder, Evin Lewis, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams.

Pakistan Pakistan cricket West Indies cricket