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Pakistan have announced their squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup just a day after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi had threatened the International Cricket Council (ICC) about not participating in the tournament. They have decided to take some big calls and have snubbed multiple prominent players from the team. This includes the likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Haris.
Salman Ali Agha will be captaining the team while Babar Azam will be making his return to T20Is with the upcoming tournament that begins from February 7. Shaheen Shah Afridi has been included in the squad despite picking up a knee injury that had interrupted his Big Bash League (BBL) stint with the Brisbane Heat.
Rizwan's abysmal BBL outing
Rizwan has been dropped from the team after his forgettable debut BBL campaign with Melbourne Renegades. The wicketkeeper-batter scored just 187 runs from 10 innings in the tournament and failed to record even a single 50+ score. He maintained a dismal strike-rate of 102.74 and even became the first overseas player in BBL history to be retired out.
Rauf failed to make the cut into the squad after an impressive BBL campaign for the Melbourne Stars. He racked up 20 wickets in 11 matches and was quite an important player for the team as they qualified for the playoffs. On the other hand, Babar was added to the team despite his poor performances for the Sydney Sixers in the BBL. He was released by the franchise during the playoffs after several abysmal displays with the bat. He scored 202 runs in 11 matches, including just two fifties and underperformed big time.
Pakistan pick 6 new players
Meanwhile, six players in the Pakistan squad have previously never featured for them in a T20 World Cup match. This includes the likes of Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Sahibzada Farhan and Usman Tariq. They will begin their campaign with the clash against Netherlands on February 7 before facing USA on February 10. They will take on arch-rivals India on February 15 and will conclude their group stage with the clash against Namibia on February 18.
Pakistan's squad for 2026 T20 World Cup: 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.
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