Pakistan have appointed Sahibzada Farhan as captain for the forthcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka, signaling a change of leadership in the shortest format of the game. Farhan takes over from Salman Ali Agha, who captained the side at the T20 World Cup. Agha is not part of the 15-member contingent that’ll take on Sri Lanka starting on October 9.
The 30-year-old Farhan, who top-scored at the T20 World Cup earlier this year with 383 runs, recently led Pakistan to a silver medal at the just-concluded Asian Games. The right-handed opener is among several players from that squad retained for the senior side, with Abdul Samad, Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Arafat Minhas, Maaz Sadaqat, Abrar Ahmed, Sufiyan Moqim and Mohammad Salman Mirza also included.
Pakistan’s T20I squad: Sahibzada Farhan (c), 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, Sufiyan Moqim
Interestingly, while Farhan has been elevated as the captain of the shortest format, he is not part of a 16-member ODI squad led by Shaheen Shah Afridi that’ll face Sri Lanka and England in a tri-series and serve as a build up to next year’s World Cup. From the squad that last played the format and beat Australia 2-1 in January this year, Abdul Samad, Rohail Nazir, Shamyl Hussain, Maaz Sadaqat and Ahmed Daniyal have also been left out.
Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf, Razaullah, Saad Baig, Saim Ayub have been called-up alongside Hasan Nawaz, who scored a fine 96 in the Asian Games final against India.
The ODI tri-series will begin on October 18 and feature a double round-robin format with the top two teams facing off in the final on October 31 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Pakistan’s ODI squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), 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, Sufiyan Moqim.
