In the absence of Afridi, vice-captain Bhanuka Rajapaksa could lead the Gladiators in the first few matches.
The Kandy franchise is owned by Bollywood actor and producer Sohail Khan, younger brother of superstar Salman Khan.
Explosive batting from Jason Roy and Jos Buttler helped England record their highest ever ODI score against Australia and fire them to a second successive win by 38 runs at Cardiff.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab on Monday
England fast bowler Mark Wood came through their final training session for the fourth Test against Australia with no flare-up of his ankle problem and is poised to replace James Anderson at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
England were boosted considerably by the return of Jason Roy, who hit an aggressive 66 in a brilliant 160-run opening stand.
Ben Stokes was named in England's Twenty20 squad for a tri-series against Australia and New Zealand on Monday, his participation dependent on whether he is charged for his involvement in an altercation outside a nightclub in September.
Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has admitted that his side need to work on their fitness and fielding ahead of next year's World T20 tournament following his side's three-run defeat against England in the second Twenty20 international in Dubai.
England have not picked uncapped all-rounder Jofra Archer in a preliminary 15-man World Cup squad but have named him in squads for the warm-up games against Pakistan and Ireland.
Moeen Ali hit the second fastest one-day international century in England's history to set up a win over West Indies by 124 runs on Sunday.
England face unbeaten New Zealand in the first semi-final of 2016 World T20 at New Delhi's Ferozshah Kotla Stadium on March 30. While England have been champions in 2010, New Zealand will be eyeing their first World T20 title. Following is a factbox of the two teams:
Two New Zealand radio presenters were suspended on Wednesday for bringing in Ben Stokes' mother on-air without her knowledge after England's four-wicket loss to West Indies in the ICC World Twenty20 final on Sunday. When Deborah Stokes, who resides in New Zealand where her son Ben was born and raised, called in to complain about her son being "bagged" on the station, she was put straight to air despite assuring that she was off-air. Ben's mother was heard accusing the station of having fun at his expense where many star cricketers backed the young all-rounder. Mrs Stokes, who was herself a prominent cricketer in NZ, continued on to stand up for her son, the broadcasters tricked her saying they were writing down her complaint to alert the station head and the hosts. But they kept misleading her; assuring the conversation was off-air.
Ben Stokes has been named in England's 14-man squad for the three one-day internationals (ODIs) against India next month, with the all-rounder on the mend from a hamstring injury.
Images from the World Cup final between England and New Zealand, at Lord's on Sunday.
England have by far been the best team in the tournament.
Joe Root smashed an unbeaten century to steer England to a convincing eight-wicket against Bangladesh in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy in London, on Thursday.
Twenty20 stalwarts Rashid Khan of Afghanistan and West Indian Andre Russell, with an identical 100,000 pounds reserve price, are among 239 players from outside the UK to enter the draft.
Kumar Sangakkara scored a world record equalling half century as Sri Lanka reached 214-4 at the end of the third day to leave the second Test against England delicately poised on Sunday.
Jofra Archer was England's leading wicket taker in their victorious World Cup campaign with 20 wickets and he made his Test debut against Australia, picking up 22 wickets in four Ashes Tests.
The mountain of runs that he has plundered so far in first-class cricket has ensured that the focus will be firmly on Delhi youngster Rishabh Pant as India 'A' take on the visiting England XI, in the second and final warm-up match in Mumbai, on Thursday.
All-rounder Ben Stokes has been recalled to the England squad for the first Test against India, starting at TrentBridge next Wednesday.
England will rest James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali, Ian Bell and Gary Ballance in the five-match one-day series against New Zealand starting next Tuesday. Kent wicketkeeper Sam Billings was the only uncapped player named in the 14-man squad.
Pakistan recovered from a dreadful start, thanks to a century by Sarfraz Ahmed, to post a respectable total of 251 before Root and captain Eoin Morgan shared a third-wicket stand of 112 to lay the platform for the hosts to go 2-0 up in the series.
'Cricket as a pathway in the US was not something people thought about 10 years ago, even like five years ago.' 'But now that there is a pathway you can see.'
Their campaign back on track after a stunning victory over South Africa, a resurgent England will be looking to plug their bowling loopholes when they take on an ever-improving Afghanistan in a Super 10 Group 1 match of the ICC World Twenty20, in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
England stormed into the final of the ICC World Twenty20 with a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over New Zealand, riding on opener Jason Roy's blazing 78.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson said his team were 20 to 25 runs short when they slipped to a seven-wicket defeat in Wednesday's World Twenty20 semi-final against England.
England's sporting global ambitions have never been fully realised since Sir Alf Ramsey's team won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Whether it is Gary Linekar or Hary Kane, the 'Cup' that they desperately want never came home during the last five and half decades.
The West Indies laid down a significant marker ahead of the ODI series as they comfortably beat England by 21 runs in their sole Twenty20 fixture at Chester-le-Street on Saturday.
Kane and Shikhar took the game calmly over the line to book a berth in the playoffs and all but end Delhi's chances of progressing in the competition.
Daredevils once again had a stop-start campaign in the ongoing IPL and are standing on the verge of yet another early elimination.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews and paceman Dhammika Prasad pushed England to the brink of defeat as the home side, set 350 to win, slumped to 57 for five on the fourth day of the second and final Test on Monday.
Meanwhile, Middlesex middle-order batsman Dawid Malan has been confirmed the replacement of Stokes in the ODI squad.
Facts and figures for the World Twenty20 final between England and West Indies at Eden Gardens on Sunday: World T20 head-to-head: Played: 4 - West Indies wins 4, England wins 0 All T20 head-to-head: Played: 13 - West Indies wins 9; England wins 4
Joe Root returned to form with a fluent 93 to lead England to a crushing 122-run victory over Sri Lanka in the fifth and final one-day international in Cardiff on Saturday.
The rule of mandatory helmets for English cricketers comes in the wake of former Australian batsman Phillip Hughes' death, who was struck by a bouncer on the back of the neck during a domestic match in Sydney.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are India's main run-getters at the moment but they need some support from the rest of the batsmen, says former India batsman Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
Tom Curran and Ben Foakes put together an unbeaten 98-run partnership to help England beat Ireland by four wickets in a one-off One-Day International in Malahide on Friday.
The 24-year-old, born in Barbados and who represented West Indies at Under-19 level, was not in England's provisional squad and only made his ODI debut little over a fortnight ago.
"When the odds were against you in the biggest game of your lives, you simply and stubbornly refused to lose. It is that determination, that character, that has made you world champions. But, more than that, you have made history," Theresa May told the players during the drinks reception, according to remarks released by her office.
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