Sahibzada Farhan named Pakistan T20I captain as PCB unveils home-season squads

The Pakistan Cricket Board announced its squads for the home T20I series against Sri Lanka and the ODI tri-series with England and Sri Lanka on 5 October 2026, and the headline change was at the top of the T20I side. Opening batter Sahibzada Farhan, who led Pakistan to a silver medal at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, takes over as T20I captain.

Salman Ali Agha, who previously captained the T20I team, has been left out of the 15-player T20I squad but keeps his place in the ODI group. Shaheen Shah Afridi continues as ODI captain.

The T20I squad

Farhan leads a 15-player group for the three matches against Sri Lanka at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on 9, 11 and 13 October. The squad is: Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Maaz Sadaqat, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan and Sufiyan Muqeem.

Two names stand out as fresh. Fast bowler Muhammad Imran Randhawa receives his first T20I call-up, and Razaullah earns a maiden white-ball selection on the back of his batting in the third Test against England.

The ODI squad

Shaheen leads a 16-player squad for the seven-match tri-series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Muqeem, and wicketkeepers Muhammad Ghazi Ghori and Saad Baig.

Babar Azam and Haris Rauf are in the ODI squad but not the T20I group. Wicketkeeper-batter Usman Khan and spinner Usman Tariq are absent from both squads, and several pace bowlers from the Asian Games party, including Ali Raza, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Akif Javed and Ahmed Daniyal, were not picked for the home series.

Coaching staff

Mike Hesson remains head coach. The support staff includes a new bowling coach in Shaun Tait, with Michael Smith as batting coach and Mansoor Amjad as fielding coach. Naveed Akram Cheema is team manager.

What comes next

The three T20Is in Rawalpindi are followed by the ODI tri-series, which begins in Rawalpindi on 18 October before moving to Lahore for the remaining league matches and the final on 31 October. The split captaincy means two distinct leadership groups for the home season: Farhan's younger, attack-minded T20I side and Shaheen's more experienced ODI squad, which is building towards the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup.