Captain santner

ICC T20 World Cup: Spinners will be in the limelight as Pakistan face New Zealand in the first match of the Super 8s stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 to be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.

Historically, the Premadasa surface has helped spinners, with grip and turn coming into play as the match progresses. Spinners from both sides are expected to play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the match.

The 2009 T20 World Cup champions, Pakistan, are coming to the competition after a good run in the Group Stage, where they won three matches out of four and lost only against the defending champions, India. The team possesses some quality spinners like Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed, Saim Ayub, and skipper Salman Agha, who can challenge the New Zealand batters' defence.