England won the toss and opted to bat in the first Twenty20 international against Pakistan in Dubai on Thursday.
Pakistan are without all-rounder Shoaib Malik, who was ruled out with a finger injury, and opener Ahmed Shehzad, who suffered an upset stomach.
Pakistan gave a first Twenty20 cap to opener Rafatullah Mohmand, who at 39 years and 20 days became the oldest player from a Test-playing country to make his T20 debut.
India’s Rahul Dravid was the previous oldest at 38 years and 232 days.
The remaining two matches will be played in Dubai on Friday and Sharjah on Monday.
Teams:
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Rafatullah Mohmand, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Imran Khan junior, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz
England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Chris Jordan, Alex Hales, James Vince, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, Stephen Parry, Liam Plunkett
Umpires: Ahsan Raza (PAK and Shozab Raza (PAK)
Tv umpire: Ahmed Shahab (PAK)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)
(AFP)
