Sahibzada Farhan named Pakistan T20I captain, Shaheen keeps ODI job

Sahibzada Farhan will captain Pakistan in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, replacing Salman Ali Agha, while Shaheen Shah Afridi keeps the ODI captaincy for the tri-series with England and Sri Lanka, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Monday.

Farhan led Pakistan to a silver medal at the Asian Games in Japan last week. Salman has been left out of the T20I side but stays in the ODI squad, Dawn reported.

The schedule

• T20Is: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on October 9, 11 and 13
• ODI tri-series: seven matches with England and Sri Lanka; the first three in Rawalpindi, then the remaining league games and the final in Lahore

Part of the Sri Lankan team has already arrived in Islamabad, with the rest due by Tuesday.

New faces, returns and omissions

Babar Azam and Shaheen are not in the T20I squad; both are kept for the ODIs. Mohammad Nawaz, who is serving a suspension, is also missing, The Express Tribune reported.

• Razaullah: the uncapped all-rounder made an impact on his Test debut against England, scoring 81 off 63 balls with nine sixes and taking four wickets
• Imran Randhawa: picked as a medium-pace bowling all-rounder after his Test debut in the same series
• Hasan Nawaz: rewarded after finishing as Pakistan’s top scorer at the Asian Games with 123 runs, including 96 off 51 balls in the final against India
• Abdul Samad: back in the T20I side for the first time since March 2025
• Naseem Shah: returns to T20Is after last playing the format against Sri Lanka in February

In the ODI squad, wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig, a former Under-19 captain who scored more than 1,000 runs in the 2025-26 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, earns his first call-up. Left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Moqim is the other notable addition, and Fakhar Zaman returns after missing the last ODI series for fitness reasons.

The squads

T20I: 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, Sufiyan Moqim.

ODI: 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, Sufiyan Moqim.

Shaun Tait returns

Former Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait is back as bowling coach in a consultancy role. He held the job in 2022-23 and replaces Ashley Noffke, who left after the Asian Games to become head coach of the Netherlands. Mike Hesson remains head coach.

The record against Sri Lanka

Pakistan have won 18 of their 31 T20Is against Sri Lanka, who have won 13. But Sri Lanka swept Pakistan 3-0 when they last played a T20I series in Pakistan, in October 2019. Sri Lanka have struggled lately, losing 2-1 to the West Indies in June and 3-0 to England last month.

This will be Pakistan’s first T20I series since the T20 World Cup earlier this year. In their last home T20I series, just before the World Cup, they swept Australia 3-0.

Why it matters

Handing Farhan the T20I captaincy after the Asian Games, and blooding Razaullah and Randhawa, shows the selectors building a younger side with an eye on the next T20 cycle. Read our reports on Sri Lanka’s squad and security for the tour and on Hasan Nawaz’s 96 in the Asian Games final.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn, The Express Tribune and the PCB.