Pakistan's T20 World Cup 2026 Squad: Pakistan have announced their squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to be played in India and Sri Lanka, starting on February 7. Salman Ali Agha will be leading the side in the presence of some big names, with a few youngsters also making the cut.
Babar Azam has been included in the 15-member squad despite heavy criticism over his T20 batting form and strike rate lately. Notably, he is the all-time top run-getter in the T20I format ahead of the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The squad was unveiled during a press conference addressed by the members of the PCB men’s national selection committee, Aqib Javed, Pakistan’s T20I captain, Salman, and white-ball head coach Michael James Hesson at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Sunday morning.
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Apart from Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Sahibzada Farhan and Usman Tariq have received their maiden mega-event call-ups to the Pakistan squad. In the 20-team tournament, each team is set to play four group games before the Super Eight and Knockout Stage, with the final scheduled to be played on March 8.
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Pakistan's squad announcement came a few hours after PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi's statement triggered speculations around their possible exclusion from the tournament. Naqvi expressed his disappointment over Bangladesh's exclusion from the tournament, with ICC naming Scotland their replacement.
Having backed the Bangladesh Cricket Board during their stand-off against the ICC over the T20 WC venue shifting request, Naqvi accused the global body of "double standards" and favouring India. Naqvi said that the final decision regarding Pakistan's participation in the T20 World Cup will be taken by the country's prime minister.
Meanwhile, in the absence of Haris Rauf, Pakistan have relied on Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah in their pace unit. The Men in Green have added more power to the lineup with all-rounders like Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz. Pakistan are slotted in Group A alongside co-hosts and defending champions India, Netherlands, USA and Namibia.
Pakistan's 15-member 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 (wk) and Usman Tariq.