Pakistan have announced a 16-member squad for the three-match T20I series against Australia, starting January 29. Star batter Babar Azam has retained his spot in the squad, despite a very disappointing Big Bash League (BBL) campaign. In the tournament, he scored just 202 runs in 11 matches at a disappointing strike rate of 103.06. Yet, the team management backed him, especially with the T20 World Cup on the horizon.
Apart from Babar, Shaheen Afridi too has been picked for the marquee series against Australia. The pacer has played 96 T20I matches in his career, claiming 126 wickets at an economy rate of 7.71. He has been out of Pakistan’s limited-overs cricket for a while, but just like Babar, Shaheen too has been called up, keeping the marquee tournament in mind.
In the meantime, the Pakistan Cricket Board has confirmed that the squad will reunite on January 24 in Lahore and the practice will begin on the following day. Australia, on the other hand, will arrive on January 28, just one day before the series opener.
“Pakistan squad and player support personnel are expected to convene in Lahore on Saturday, 24 January and will begin their preparations for the series the following day. Australia are set to arrive in Pakistan on Wednesday, 28 February and will play just their second series in the format on Pakistan soil after a solitary T20I in April 2022 at Gaddafi Stadium,” PCB statement read.
Meanwhile, it’s unclear when Pakistan will announce their squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. It could be tactical as PCB has openly supported Bangladesh following their decision not play the tournament in India.
Pakistan's 16-member squad vs Australia
Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq