Farhan to lead T20I side against SL; Shaheen retains ODI captaincy for tri-series

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  ISLAMABAD: Sri Lankan players pose for a photo upon their arrival at the team hotel on Sunday night, ahead  of the Twenty20 Internationals against Pakistan. —Courtesy PCB
ISLAMABAD: Sri Lankan players pose for a photo upon their arrival at the team hotel on Sunday night, ahead of the Twenty20 Internationals against Pakistan. —Courtesy PCB

LAHORE: Sahibzada Farhan will lead Pakistan in the three-match Twenty20 International series against Sri Lanka, while Shaheen Shah Afridi has retained the One-day International captaincy for the subsequent tri-series involving Engl­a­nd and Sri Lanka, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Monday.

The T20Is will be played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Oct 9, 11 and 13 before Pakistan host England and Sri Lanka in a seven-match ODI tri-series.

The first three matches of the tri-series will be played in Rawalpindi, with the tournament then moving to Lah­ore for the remaining league matches and the final.

Farhan, who captained Pakistan at the recently concluded Asian Games in Japan, takes over the T20I captaincy from Salman Ali Agha, who has been omitted from the shortest format. Salman, however, remains part of the ODI squad.

The T20I squad also does not include Babar Azam and Shaheen, with the two retai­ned for the ODI assignment.

The 15-member squad includes uncapped all-roun­ders Razaullah and Moham­mad Imran Randhawa. Razaullah recently made an impact on his Test debut against England, scoring 81 off 63 balls with nine sixes and taking four wickets.

Imran, who also made his Test debut during the England series, has been included as a medium-pace bowling all-rounder.

Maaz Sadaqat has retai­ned his place after featuring prominently in Pakistan’s Asian Games campaign, while Abdul Samad returns to the T20I side after last representing Pakistan in the format in March 2025.

Hasan Nawaz has also been rewarded for his performances at the Asian Games, where he was Pakistan’s leading batter and finished the tournament as its highest run-scorer with 123 runs.

He made 96 off 51 balls, including five fours and seven sixes, in Pakistan’s defeat by India in the final as the team settled for the silver medal.

Fast bowler Naseem Shah returns to the T20I squad after last playing the format for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in February 2026.

Shadab Khan, Fakhar Za­m­an, Saim Ayub and Abr­ar Ahmed are among the other established players in the squad.

The 16-member ODI squad, meanwhile, retains a more experienced core under Shaheen, with Babar, Salman, Haris Rauf and Faheem Ashraf included.

Hasan also returns to the ODI setup, and so does Razaullah.

Wicket-keeper-batter Saad Baig, the former Paki­stan Under-19 captain who scored more than 1,000 runs in the 2025-26 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, has earned his maiden ODI call-up.

Left-arm wrist-spinner Sufiyan Moqim is the other notable addition, while Mohammad Ghazi Ghori is also included as a wicket-keeper-batter.

The PCB also announced a change to the coaching staff, with former Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait returning as bowling coach in a consultancy capacity.

Tait previously served as Pakistan’s bowling coach during 2022-23 and will replace Ashley Noffke, who stepped down following the Asian Games to take up the head coach’s position with the Netherlands.

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

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

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2026

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