Salman Agha has been removed as Pakistan‘s T20I captain, and has also been dropped from the T20I squad. Sahibzada Farhan, who led Pakistan to the silver medal at the Asian Games recently, has been appointed T20I captain for the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka.
Farhan’s stock has risen steadily after stellar showings at last year’s Asia Cup, where Pakistan finished runners-up to India, and then at the T20 World Cup, where he was the highest-scorer of the tournament with 383 runs at a strike rate of 160. While he did not enjoy the same level of success with the bat in the two games Pakistan played at the Asian Games, Pakistan pushed India close in the final before losing by 19 runs.
Hasan Nawaz, who scored 96 in the Asian Games final against India, had returned to the T20I side after a year, and retains his place for the series against Sri Lanka. Before the Asian Games, Nawaz had last played a T20I in November 2025, falling out of favour after a poor Asia Cup and a string of low scores.
Naseem Shah, whose last game in the format came at the T20 World Cup in February, returns to the side as well. He has also been named in the squad for the ODI tri-series against Sri Lanka and England that immediately follows the T20Is against Sri Lanka. Naseem had suffered a knee injury at the PSL in April, but has since built up his bowling workloads in domestic cricket while also playing in the CPL.
Right-arm quick Razaullah, who impressed with his pace on Test debut against England in September, and followed it up with a thrilling innings with the bat, also features in both squads even as he’s uncapped in both limited-overs formats.
There is less upheaval in the ODI squad, where Shaheen Afridi retains his captaincy. The ODI squad includes Babar Azam but not Mohammad Rizwan, who’s currently embroiled in an investigation and legal proceedings with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority, and doesn’t feature in the T20I squad as well.
That leaves Ghazi Ghori, who also made his Test debut against England at Edgbaston and has played four ODIs, is now Pakistan’s first-choice wicketkeeper in ODIs. Khawaja Nafay, meanwhile, is the only specialist wicketkeeper in the T20I squad.
The T20Is and tri-series also see the return of Shaun Tait as Pakistan’s bowling coach, having previously served in the role for a year from February 2022.
Tait comes back to Pakistan after a successful 12-month stint as Bangladesh’s fast-bowling coach, which has seen the value of their fast-bowling stock soar. He quit in June, overseeing a 2-0 Test series victory against Pakistan, where Bangladesh’s pace bowlers played key roles. Under Tait, Bangladesh beat Pakistan in ODI and T20I series. Back in Pakistan, he replaces Ashley Noffke, who quit as bowling coach to take up the head coach’s role with Netherlands.
Pakistan’s T20I series against Sri Lanka begins on October 9, with all three matches to be played in Rawalpindi. The ODI tri-series starts on October 18, with Pakistan taking on Sri Lanka in the opener in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan T20I squad against Sri Lanka
Sahibzada Farhan (capt), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Maaz Sadaqat, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim
Pakistan ODI squad for tri-series against Sri Lanka and England
Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wk), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim