Sahibzada Farhan has been handed the Pakistan T20I captaincy for the three-match home series against Sri Lanka, replacing Salman Ali Agha, who is not even part of the T20I squad. Babar Azam has also been left out of the shortest-format side, while Razaullah has earned a maiden white-ball call-up after impressing on his Test debut in England.
The Pakistan Cricket Board announced the squads on Monday, with Farhan set to lead the side in the three T20Is at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on October 9, 11 and 13. Shaheen Shah Afridi, meanwhile, will continue as Pakistan’s ODI captain for the tri-series involving England and Sri Lanka.
Farhan’s appointment comes soon after he led Pakistan at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. The 30-year-old opener guided the team to a silver medal, with Pakistan losing to India in the men’s T20 final. He had already been given the leadership responsibility for the continental event, and has now been elevated to captain the senior T20I side.
Naseem Shah returns to Pakistan’s T20I side after last playing at the T20 World Cup in February. He has recovered from his knee injury, rebuilding his bowling workload through domestic cricket and the CPL, and has also been picked for the ODI tri-series. The series will also mark Shaun Tait’s return as Pakistan’s bowling coach after previously holding the role for a year from February 2022.
BABAR AZAM MISSES OUT
Babar’s omission is another major change to Pakistan’s T20I setup. The former captain is still part of the ODI squad for the tri-series, but will not feature against Sri Lanka in the three-match T20I series.
The decision comes after a difficult T20 World Cup campaign with the bat. Babar scored 15 against the Netherlands, 46 against the USA, five against India and 25 against England, finishing with 91 runs in four innings. He was subsequently not part of Pakistan’s run to the later stages, while Farhan emerged as one of the team’s leading performers.
Babar is also finding runs hard to come by in domestic cricket. After returning to Pakistan’s first-class setup for the first time in nearly seven years, he managed only 12 and four in his first match for Oil and Gas Development Company Limited against Khan Research Laboratories. He then scored 21 against State Bank of Pakistan, leaving him with just 37 runs across his first three innings of the President’s Trophy.
RAZAULLAH EARNS WHITE-BALL REWARD
Razaullah, meanwhile, has been rewarded for an impressive introduction to international cricket. The 21-year-old made his Test debut against England at Edgbaston in September and produced an eye-catching performance, scoring 81 in Pakistan’s second innings while also claiming wickets with the ball.
His efforts have now earned him call-ups to both the T20I and ODI squads. Razaullah is part of Farhan’s 15-member T20I squad and Shaheen’s 16-member ODI group for the tri-series.
Pakistan’s T20I squad also features Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed. The Sri Lanka series will be followed by the seven-match ODI tri-series, with Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka playing across Rawalpindi and Lahore.
Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmad, Shadab Khan, Arafat Minhas, Hassan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Moqim, Fakhar Zaman, Razaullah are a part of both the ODI and T20I squads.
Pakistan squad for T20I series against Sri Lanka
Sahibzada Farhan (captain), 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 and Sufiyan Moqim
Pakistan squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), 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 and Sufiyan Moqim
– Ends
