Hambantota: Sri Lanka opted to go in with both the spinners Sachithra Senanayake and Kaushal Lokuarachchi. Pakistan handed a debut to Shakeel Ansar.
Mahela: "Looks like a good wicket, might slow down later on. Pakistan keep producing a lot of talented players, we have to be on our guard." Senanayake, the offspinner, and Lokuarachchi, the legspinner, are making their T20I debuts. Lokuarachchi last played for Sri Lanka in 2007.
Hafeez: "Captaincy is the biggest honour you can get as a player. I am honoured." 33-year old Shakeel Ansar is debuting as a wicketkeeper-batsman. And that man Mohammad Sami, who you can somehow never write off, is back
Teams
Sri Lanka TM Dilshan, HDRL Thirimanne, DPMD Jayawardene (captain), KC Sangakkara (wk), LD Chandimal, AD Mathews, NLTC Perera, SMSM Senanayake, KS Lokuarachchi, SL Malinga, KMDN Kulasekara
Pakistan Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Khalid Latif, Shakeel Ansar (wk), Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul