Experienced players were chosen by Pakistan for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka and the ODI tri-series involving England. Head coach Mike Hesson thinks it is important to have experienced players on the team at this time. Main players like Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah, and Shadab Khan are included in the lineup of the Pakistan selection committee.
The new squad looks very different from the young squad that Pakistan sent for the Asian Games. Sahabzada Farhan, who was captain of the Asian Games squad, has been appointed the new T20I captain of the Pakistan team. He replaces Salman Ali Agha. Thus, Farhan becomes the eighth T20I captain for Pakistan in three years.
Shaheen Shah Afridi was appointed as the captain for the series against Australia. Later on, Mohammad Rizwan was given the captaincy but he was soon removed from his position. Again, Babar was fitted into the role of captain. While Babar kept the position for for nearly six months but later on abdicated from power. In March 2025 Salman Ali Agha was lifted to captaincy. More than a year after that Farhan was appointed as captain.
Pakistan Bring Back Experienced Players
Pakistan has also welcomed back several veteran players. Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah and Salman Ali Agha have represented Pakistan in a number of important ICC tournaments over the past few years. The players played for Pakistan’s T20 World Cup teams from 2021 onwards. They also took part in the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy. The T20I squad sees six changes from the team that participated in the Asian Games. Saad Masood, Haider Ali and Usman Khan are among the omitted players.
The ODI squad has five changes from the team that faced Australia in May. Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Ahmed Daniyal, Rohail Nazir and Shamyl Hussain are not part of the squad this time. Hesson said earlier that he would like to give some game time to younger players, however, Pakistan have opted to go with seasoned players ahead of the upcoming series.
Pakistan ODI squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (C), Salman Ali Agha, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Saad Baig, Sahabzada Farhan, Abrar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Muqeem.
Pakistan T20 squad: Sahabzada Farhan (C), Abdul Samad, Khawaja Nafay, Maaz Sadaqat, Abrar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Salman Mirza, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Muqeem.