Pakistan announce 15-member squad for Asian Games 2026, Sahibzada named captain as Agha sacked, no place for Babar, Afridi

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on June 10 announced their 15-member squad for the Asian Games 2026. Sahibzada Farhan has been rewarded for a record-breaking run in T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. He will captain Pakistan team as Salman Agha has been relieved of leadership and dropped from the T20I squad. Big names missing from the T20Is are Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam and others.

Abdul Samad has been named Farhan’s deputy. Left-arm pacer Akif Javed has been picked in the squad, owing to his impressive performances in the ongoing T20 Blast. Also, pacer Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat and Saad Masood are yet to make their T20I debuts. Meanwhile, Usman Khan is the only wicketkeeper-batter in the squad.

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"Additionally, 14 of the 15 players selected for the Asian Games squad are part of the NCA White-Ball Camp, which is set to commence in Lahore from Monday, 15 June," the PCB said in a statement.

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The Asian Games (cricket schedule) men's cricket fixtures will begin late into September. From September 28 to 29, quarter-finals will be played. The semifinals will be played on October 1. The medal matches will take place on October 3.

Pakistan’s squad for the Asian Games 2026

Sahibzada Farhan (c), Abdul Samad (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufiyan Muqeem and Usman Khan (wk).

Farhan's T20I numbers

30-year-old Farhan has scored 1,305 runs from 46 T20Is at an average of 30.34. His strike rate is 136.64. He has two centuries and 10 fifties in the T20Is. The centuries came during his record-breaking run in T20 World Cup 2026 where Pakistan were knocked out of the semifinals race.

Pakistan's new T20I vice-captain's underwhelming numbers

28-year-old Samad has played just five T20Is for Pakistan, scoring just 66 runs at an average of 16.50 and strike rate of 113.79. He hasn't played a T20I since March 2025 when Paksitan toured New Zealand. In Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026, he scored 132 runs from eight innings at a strike rate of 188.57.