New Delhi: The Pakistan cricket team has made several major changes to its squad ahead of the three-match T20 International series against Sri Lanka. The team management has stripped Salman Ali Agha of the T20I captaincy, while former captain Babar Azam and fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi have also been dropped from the T20I squad. Sahibzada Farhan has now been appointed the permanent captain of the T20I format.
However, Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Salman Ali Agha have all been included in the ODI squad. Shaheen Afridi will captain the team in ODIs.
Farhan has captained in the Asian Games
This responsibility is not new to Sahibzada Farhan. He recently captained Pakistan at the 2026 Asian Games. Under his leadership, Pakistan won the silver medal. India won the gold medal in the final, defeating Pakistan by 19 runs.
Farhan is currently the third-ranked batsman in the ICC T20 rankings. Therefore, Pakistan has placed their faith in him in the shorter formats. Meanwhile, Salman Agha was appointed captain of the T20 team ahead of the 2025 Asia Cup , but under his captaincy, the team lost in the Asia Cup final. Subsequently, Pakistan’s performance in the T20 World Cup also fell short of expectations.
Many new faces in the T20 team
Pakistan’s new T20 squad includes several young and promising players. Abdul Samad, Arafat Minhas, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Maaz Sadaqat, Razaullah Khan, and Mohammad Salman Mirza have been included in the squad.
Meanwhile, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Khan, and Usman Tariq have been dropped from the squad. Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Salman Agha will also be omitted from the T20 squad.
Pakistan T20 team against Sri Lanka
Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Maaz Sadaqat, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan and Sufyan Moqim.
Shaheen Afridi is the captain of the ODI team
Despite being dropped from the T20 squad, Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi have been retained in the ODI squad. Salman Ali Agha is also part of the ODI squad. Shaheen Afridi will captain the ODI team.
This squad also features some changes compared to the previous ODI series against Australia. Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Razaullah, and Saad Baig have been included in the squad. Meanwhile, Abdul Samad, Ahmed Daniyal, Maaz Sadaqat, Rohel Nazir, Sahibzada Farhan, and Shamil Hussain have been dropped from the ODI squad.
Pakistan ODI team
Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan and Sufian Mokim.
Changes in the coaching staff as well
The Pakistan team’s support staff has also been assigned different responsibilities during the Sri Lanka tour. Shaun Tait will serve as bowling coach, Michael Smith as batting coach, and Mansoor Amjad as fielding coach.
Mohammad Tahir will be the team’s physiotherapist, while Grant Luden will serve as the strength and conditioning coach. Nabeel Edgar Pace will be the team’s analyst for the T20 series against Sri Lanka. Usman Hashmi will take over this responsibility during the ODI tri-series.
