Sahibzada Farhan appointed Pakistan's T20I captain, Salman Ali Agha sacked; Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi dropped too

The PCB announced the squads for the ODI and T20I series on Monday. Check out the full team here.

Updated on: Oct 5, 2026, 20:12:15 IST

Written by Vishesh Roy

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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday confirmed the appointment of opening batter Sahibzada Farhan as the new T20I captain, and he'll take over the reins from Salman Ali Agha, under whom the Green Shirts failed to do anything substantial in the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup. Apart from being removed as the captain, Agha has also been dropped from the squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.

Salman Ali Agha sacked as Pakistan's T20I captain. (AFP)

Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf have been dropped from the T20I squad, while the trio were named in the ODI squad for the Tri-Series against England and Sri Lanka.

Also Read: Pakistan pull out of WCL: PCB wanted Indian players to apologise for last year's drama, management rejects conditions

Recently, Sahibzada led Pakistan at the Asian Games, taking his team to the final, only to fall short against India in the gold-medal match. Speedster Shaheen might have been dropped from the T20I squad, but he'll continue to lead the team in ODIs. Moreover, Usman Khan, the Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter, has also been dropped from the T20I team following his lacklustre effort behind the stumps in the Asian Games final against India.

Razaullah, who emerged as the hero for Pakistan in the third and final Test against England, smashing nine sixes, was also named in the two squads, which happens to be his maiden call-up in a white-ball team.

Know more about the schedule

The T20I series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, with the opening match scheduled for October 9. The second and third T20Is will be played on October 11 and 13, respectively.

Following the T20I series, Pakistan will feature in a seven-match ODI tri-series alongside England and Sri Lanka. Rawalpindi will host the opening three matches, before the tournament moves to Lahore for the remaining league matches and the final.

15-member T20I squad: Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan and Sufiyan Moqim

16-member ODI squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wk), Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan and Sufiyan Moqim

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishesh Roy
Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE. After a stint of over three years at ANI, Vishesh moved to NDTV, where he gained hands-on experience in digital-first journalism, with a particular emphasis on live blogs and real-time news reporting. He joined Hindustan Times in October 2024 and quickly established himself with a series of exclusive interviews and source-driven stories. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Hindustan Times was the first to report that the two-day event would be held in Saudi Arabia. In the early months of his tenure, Vishesh secured interviews with leading cricketers, including Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rashid Latif. He has also closely tracked the rise of emerging talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya by speaking to their current and childhood coaches. His background in on-field reporting has helped Hindustan Times Digital break exclusive stories on major developments, including Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy, IPL scheduling, and the T20 World Cup controversy involving Bangladesh and Pakistan.Read More

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