Pakistan have announced a leadership change in T20I cricket ahead of their upcoming series against Sri Lanka, with Sahibzada Farhan appointed as the new captain. The 30-year-old opener takes over the reins from Salman Ali Agha, who led Pakistan during the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Agha has not been included in the 15-member squad for the series, which begins on October 9.
The appointment gives Farhan an opportunity to build on an impressive year in the shortest format, having also recently guided Pakistan to a silver medal at the Asian Games.
Sahibzada Farhan takes over Pakistan’s T20I captaincy
Farhan’s promotion comes after a productive campaign at the T20 World Cup, where he finished as Pakistan’s leading run-scorer with 383 runs. His consistency at the top of the order has now been rewarded with the captaincy as Pakistan begin another phase in their T20I setup.
The right-handed batter also led Pakistan at the recently concluded Asian Games, where the team secured a silver medal. Several players from that squad have retained their places in the senior T20I side, including Abdul Samad, Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, and Mohammad Salman Mirza. Nawaz will also carry attention into the series after making 96 in the Asian Games final against India.
Farhan left out of Pakistan’s ODI squad
Despite being handed the T20I captaincy, Farhan has not been selected for Pakistan’s ODI squad. Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead the 16-member side in the upcoming ODI tri-series involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England.
The decision creates an interesting split in Pakistan’s leadership and selection plans across the two white-ball formats. The ODI squad includes Babar Azam, Salman Ali Agha, Haris Rauf, among others.
Several players who featured when Pakistan last played an ODI series have also been omitted. Samad, Rohail Nazir, Shamyl Hussain, Maaz Sadaqat and Ahmed Daniyal are among those left out after Pakistan’s 2-1 series victory over Australia in January.
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While Pakistan’s immediate focus will be on the T20I series against Sri Lanka, the ODI squad will soon turn its attention towards the tri-series involving Sri Lanka and England. The competition begins on October 18 and will follow a double round-robin format. The top two teams will then meet in the final on October 31 at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
Pakistan’s T20I squad for Sri Lanka series: Sahibzada Farhan (c), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim
Pakistan’s ODI squad for tri-series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wk), Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim.
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