Sahibzada Farhan Named Pakistan’s New T20 Captain
News Desk
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made a major change to the national T20 setup, appointing Sahibzada Farhan as captain while removing Salman Ali Agha from the leadership role and dropping him from the T20 squad.
The changes were announced as the PCB named Pakistan’s squads for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka and the ODI tri-series featuring Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England.
The T20 series against Sri Lanka will begin on October 9, with all three matches scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi.
Farhan has been handed the T20 captaincy following a strong run of performances. He was Pakistan’s leading run-scorer at the T20 World Cup, where he accumulated 383 runs, and also impressed during the Asia Cup.
He previously led Pakistan at the Asian Games, where the national side won a silver medal after losing to India in the final.
Hassan Nawaz has also returned to the T20 squad after an absence of nearly a year. He last represented Pakistan in a T20 international in November 2025 and recently scored 96 runs against India in the Asian Games final.
Fast bowler Naseem Shah has also been recalled to the T20 side. His last T20 appearance came during the T20 World Cup in February. After suffering a knee injury during the Pakistan Super League in April, Naseem has increased his bowling workload in domestic cricket and also featured in the Caribbean Premier League.
Fast bowler Razaullah has been selected in both the T20 and ODI squads after impressing on his Test debut against England in September. He also contributed with the bat during the Test match.
There have been fewer changes to the ODI setup, with Shaheen Shah Afridi retaining the captaincy. Babar Azam has been included in the ODI squad, while Mohammad Rizwan has not been selected.
Rizwan is currently facing an investigation and legal proceedings initiated by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority.
In Rizwan’s absence, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori has been named as the first-choice wicketkeeper in the ODI squad, while Khawaja Nafay is the only specialist wicketkeeper included in the T20 squad.
Meanwhile, Shaun Tait has returned to the Pakistan team as bowling coach. He previously served in the role for a year beginning in February 2022 and most recently worked as Bangladesh’s fast-bowling coach.
The three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka will be followed by the ODI tri-series involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England, which begins on October 18. Pakistan’s opening match against Sri Lanka will also be played in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan T20I squad vs Sri Lanka:
Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Nawaz, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Maaz Sadaqat, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan and Sufiyan Muqeem.
Pakistan ODI squad for tri-series:
Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Haris Rauf, Hassan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan and Sufiyan Muqeem.
