Mohammed Hafeez Quinton De Kock Pakistan South Africa
Pakistan batsman Mohammed Hafeez prepares to play a shot to the on side in their T20 international against South Africa, November 22. Reuters

Pakistan and Sri Lanka will look to iron out their chinks ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh next year when the two sides meet in a two-match series in the United Arab Emirates, starting Wednesday.

Where to Watch Live

The match is scheduled for a 9pm IST start with live coverage on Sony Six. There is no official live streaming option available in India. You can, however, catch all the action live online in the U.S. by clicking HERE.

Overview

The UAE has become Pakistan's designated home country, with sides refusing to tour Pakistan due to security issues.

Having just finished a "home" tour against South Africa, before winning a three-match ODI series in the rainbow nation, Pakistan will exude confidence when they line up against Sri Lanka.

The Islanders, on the other hand, saw a series against New Zealand severely disrupted by wet weather, and the players will just be happy to get a solid hit out in the middle ahead of the World Cup.

"The advantage Pakistan's got is that they have played a lot of international cricket in the last six-eight months whereas unfortunately we haven't played nearly as much because of weather and various other things," Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford said.

"We've done as much as we can to make sure we are sharp and ready but nothing's quite the same as being match-tight and match-sharp. They have got an advantage from that point of view and they have got some fantastically talented cricketers."

Sri Lanka, the top-ranked side in T20Is, did not do too well in their last trip to the UAE in 2011, losing the lone T20, while also going down in the Test and ODI series.

Ford, though, is confident his team can stand up to the test this time around. "When Sri Lanka went their last it didn't go all too well," Ford added. "Hopefully we can show that we have made some progress. They are a very tough team to beat in the UAE and they are playing good cricket no matter where they play. They have done well against South Africa just recently. It really will be a tough challenge for us.

"Some of the players have been talking about some of the things they need to expect are going to happen there. Everybody is that much wiser on the conditions and what to expect.

"We had the advantage of a pretty good home series against Pakistan and we know quite a bit about their team and some of our boys have performed well against them so psychologically that's also a boost for us. But at the end of the day it's about getting down there and playing really well session for session."

Team news: Left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman and batsman Nasir Jamshed have been left out of Pakistan's T20 squad, while Sri Lanka will be without stalwart Mahela Jayawardene, who has not travelled to the UAE for personal reasons.

Squads: Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Sharjeel Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Zulfiqar Babar, Bilawal Bhatti, Junaid Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Anwar Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Haris Sohai.

Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lasith Malinga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Seekkuge Prasanna, Suranga Lakmal, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Ramith Rambukwella.

Expected lineups: Pakistan: Shehzad, 2 Sharjeel, Hafeez (capt), Maqsood, 5 U Akmal (wk), Afridi, 7 Amin, Babar, Tanvir, Ajmal, Khan.

Sri Lanka: Dilshan, Perera, Sangakkara (wk), Chandimal (capt), Mathews, Perera, Rambukwella, Kulasekara, Senanayake, Malinga, Mendis.