&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "T20 World Cup 2026: Pakistan announce squad, Babar returns; Rizwan, Rauf miss out")
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday (Jan 25) named their 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to be held in India and Sri Lanka from Feb 7 to March 8. The selection signals a clear shift in Pakistan’s T20 plans, with fast bowler Haris Rauf and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan left out of the squad. The team was announced at a press conference in Lahore, attended by PCB Director of High Performance and national selector Aqib Javed, white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and T20 captain Salman Ali Agha.
A major talking point is the inclusion of several players who will play their first senior World Cup. Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Sahibzada Farhan and Usman Tariq have all earned maiden call-ups for an ICC tournament.
Babar Azam, the highest run-scorer in men’s T20 Internationals, returns to secure his place in the team. Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub and Usman Khan are expected to strengthen the top order. All-rounders Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf will play key roles with both bat and ball. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah will lead the pace attack, while Abrar Ahmed is the only specialist spinner in the team.
Under the ICC’s “Fusion Formula,” Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka and will not travel to India during the tournament. If Pakistan qualifies for the semi-finals or final, then there knockout matches will be held in Colombo. Otherwise, the knockout games will take place in Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
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Pakistan is placed in Group A along with India, the Netherlands, the USA and Namibia. They will start their campaign against the Netherlands on Feb 7 in Colombo, then face the USA on Feb 10, India on Feb 15 and Namibia on Feb 18.
Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup 2026
Salman Ali Agha (Captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (WK), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan and Usman Tariq
