Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha invited the Netherlands to bat after winning the toss in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Colombo on Saturday.

Salman Agha hoped bowlers would take advantage of what he called unusual conditions in Sri Lanka after the rains.

Speaking at the toss, Agha said, “It looks like a fresh pitch, and there’s been rain for a few days, so if there’s any moisture, we want to use that. It’s the first time I’ve seen that much grass in Sri Lanka.”

Pakistan’s starting XI features three seamers — Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, and Faheem Ashraf — to take advantage of the assistance for fast bowlers.

Netherlands captain Scott Edwards described the pitch as “a very good batting wicket” and said he would have considered bowling first under different circumstances.

“We’re happy to be batting here. We’ve been in India and Sri Lanka for a month and a half, so we’re used to the conditions. Plenty of all-rounders and options for both bowling and batting,” Edwards added.

Salman is making his mega-event debut. So far, he has captained Pakistan in 43 T20Is, winning 27 of those.

Among Pakistan players, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Usman Khan have featured in previous editions of the tournament.