Hong Kong Sixes 2026: Abbas Afridi to lead Pakistan, India clash set for 30 October — squads, groups and timings

Key takeaways

• The PCB has named Abbas Afridi captain of Pakistan's seven-man squad for the Hong Kong Sixes, played from 30 October to 1 November at the Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground.
• Pakistan are defending champions — they beat Kuwait in last year's final for their sixth title.
• Pakistan are in Pool C with India and the UAE. They play the UAE at 7:35am PKT and India at 11:15am PKT, both on Friday 30 October.
• India are led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with a squad full of IPL names.
• The team leaves for Hong Kong on 28 October.

Pakistan squad

Mohammad Abbas Afridi (captain), Abdul Samad, Ahmed Daniyal, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Khawaja Nafay, Muhammad Shahzad and Saad Masood.

India squad (as reported)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (captain), Krunal Pandya, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, T Natarajan, Shashank Singh and Rahul Tewatia. At last year's event, India beat Pakistan by two runs (DLS) in the group stage before losing to Kuwait and the UAE.

The four pools

Key timings (Pakistan time)

Group winners go to the Cup semi-finals, second-placed teams to the Plate, and third-placed teams to the Bowl. Indian outlets list the Cup final at 12:40pm IST, which matches 12:10pm PKT.

How Hong Kong Sixes works

• Six players a side, six overs per innings.
• Every fielder except the wicketkeeper must bowl one over; one bowler may bowl a second, non-consecutive over.
• A batter must retire on reaching 31 runs, but can return if all teammates are out.
• Wides and no-balls give one run plus an extra ball.

What to watch

• How Abbas Afridi's pace and death-bowling skills translate to the six-over format.
• The Pakistan–India game on day one is likely to decide who tops Pool C and goes into the Cup semi-finals.
• We will update this post with results once the tournament starts.