The Qalandars have handed places in the playing XI to Bangladesh duo Mustafizur Rahman and Parvez Hossain Emon, adding extra intrigue for Bangladeshi fans in the opening clash.
Speaking at the toss, Shaheen said the surface looked like a good batting wicket and expected it to offer pace and bounce early on.
“We are going to bat first. It looks like a good surface. Normally we prefer batting first,” Shaheen said.
He also revealed that Lahore had gone in with a combination featuring four fast bowlers and seven batters.
The Qalandars’ XI includes Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Parvez Hossain Emon, Sikandar Raza, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, and Mustafizur Rahman, giving them a strong blend of batting depth and pace firepower.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad Kingsmen, led by Marnus Labuschagne, are set to begin their campaign with a bowling-heavy attack after losing the toss.
Hyderabad Kingsmen Playing XI: Saim Ayub, Usman Khan (wk), Marnus Labuschagne (c), Kusal Perera, Irfan Khan Niazi, Rizwan Mehmood, Hassan Khan, Hammad Azam, Riley Meredith, Mohammad Ali, Akif Javed
Lahore Qalandars Playing XI: Mohammad Naeem, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Parvez Hossain Emon, Haseebullah Khan (wk), Sikandar Raza, Asif Ali, Shaheen Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Mustafizur Rahman, Ubaid Shah
