Pakistan have named a 16-player strong squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Australia.
Both Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who missed the recent three-match series against Sri Lanka, return to the Pakistan T20I squad with the World Cup fast approaching. Australia are touring Pakistan for three T20Is, all of which will be played in Lahore, to prepare for the upcoming tournament in India and Sri Lanka.
Babar and Shaheen, however, weren’t in the best of form in their respective maiden Big Bash League campaigns. Playing for the Sydney Sixers, Babar scored 202 runs in 11 games with a top score of 58*, but at a disappointing strike-rate of just 103.06. Shaheen, on the other hand, picked up only two wickets while leaking runs at 11.19 an over in four games for Brisbane Heat.
Haris Rauf, meanwhile, who hasn’t played T20 cricket for Pakistan since the Asia Cup last year, was ignored for selection for the Australia series. Notably, he is currently the leading wicket-taker in the 2025/26 BBL with 20 scalps in 11 games at 16.75 each, and an economy rate of 8.23.
The three T20Is have been scheduled for January 29, 31 and February 1. The Pakistan squad is set assemble on Saturday (January 24) while Australia will arrive in the country on Wednesday (January 28) for the series.
Pakistan squad for Australia T20Is
Apart from Babar’s inclusion for Abdul Samad and Afridi’s addition, the rest of the Pakistan squad remains the same from their 1-1 series draw with Sri Lanka earlier this month.
Batters: Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub.
Wicketkeeper: Usman Khan.
All-rounders: Salman Agha (c), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan.
Bowlers: Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Tariq.
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