He led a second-string squad in Japan. He scored 1 and 10 with the bat. His side lost the Asian Games final to India by 19 runs. That is not the profile of a man who normally gets promoted to permanent national T20I captain three days after the tournament ends. But Sahibzada Farhan is not a normal story. And Pakistan cricket on October 5 made a decision that changes their white-ball leadership picture completely.
Sahibzada Farhan Is Pakistan’s New T20I Captain
The Pakistan Cricket Board announced Pakistan’s squads for two upcoming series on October 5. The T20I squad is for a three-match series against Sri Lanka starting Friday in Rawalpindi. The ODI squad is for the tri-series against Sri Lanka and England starting October 18.
The headline from both announcements combined is clear. Sahibzada Farhan is Pakistan’s new T20I captain. Salman Ali Agha has been removed as T20I captain and dropped from the squad entirely. Babar Azam has not been selected for the T20I squad. Shaun Tait returns as Pakistan’s bowling coach for the first time since his previous stint that ended in early 2023.
Salman Ali Agha’s Record as T20I Captain
The numbers behind Salman Agha’s removal tell the story. He led Pakistan in 36 T20I matches. He won 22 and lost 14 for a win percentage of 61.11 percent. On paper, that is a reasonable record. The problem is the timing and significance of the losses.
Under Agha, Pakistan lost to India thrice in the Asia Cup 2025 before suffering an early exit at the T20 World Cup 2026, including a loss to India in Colombo. Those defeats against India specifically define why his captaincy has been ended. Pakistan’s inability to beat India in T20Is under Agha’s leadership, combined with the T20 World Cup group-stage exit, made the change inevitable regardless of the overall win-loss numbers.
He also stood in as Test captain for the injured Babar Azam in the first Test against England and was dropped in the second Test and sent home. His England tour experience across both formats added to the case for change in the selection committee’s thinking.
Salman Agha Remains in the ODI Squad
Despite being dropped from the T20I squad entirely, Salman Agha retains his place in Pakistan’s ODI squad for the tri-series against Sri Lanka and England. He is still a valued ODI contributor. His batting average in ODIs is significantly better than his T20I returns.
The distinction between his T20I and ODI status is deliberate. The PCB is not ending Salman Agha’s international career. They are separating his roles. He is an ODI player. He is no longer a T20I captain or squad member. That specific separation allows Pakistan to keep his batting quality in the 50-over format without the complications his T20I leadership created.
Why Farhan: The Asian Games Argument
The reasoning behind Farhan’s appointment is directly tied to the Asian Games. Sahibzada Farhan, who led Pakistan to the silver medal at the Asian Games recently, has been appointed T20I captain for the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka.
Farhan’s stock has risen steadily after stellar showings at last year’s Asia Cup, where Pakistan finished runners-up to India, and then at the T20 World Cup, where he was the highest-scorer of the tournament with 383 runs at a strike rate of 160.
Those T20 World Cup numbers are the most compelling part of his case. 383 runs as the tournament’s highest scorer at a strike rate of 160 is an extraordinary individual performance. Even if Pakistan did not progress to the semi-finals, Farhan personally did everything a captain-candidate could do. He did not score heavily in the Asian Games but his leadership in taking a young side to their first-ever Asian Games final earned him the goodwill the selectors needed to make the appointment.
Babar Azam Dropped From T20I Squad
This is the most significant individual selection decision in the announcement. Babar Azam has not been selected for the T20I squad against Sri Lanka. He is in the ODI squad only.
Former captain Babar Azam has also been dropped from the T20I side, although he has retained his place in the ODI squad. Pakistan are beginning their T20I transition to a younger, more explosive batting-first approach.
Babar’s T20I strike rate and his suitability to the most aggressive version of the format have been questioned internally for months. His 2026 T20I returns did not silence those questions. Keeping him in the ODI squad while removing him from T20Is is the PCB’s pragmatic solution to the debate.
Shaun Tait Returns as Bowling Coach
The series also sees the return of Shaun Tait as Pakistan’s bowling coach, having previously served in the role for a year from February 2022.
Tait’s return is significant given Pakistan’s bowling underperformed in the England Test series. His previous stint helped Pakistan’s pace bowlers develop more aggressive targeting strategies. Ashley Noffke had been serving as bowling coach across the white-ball formats. Tait’s appointment suggests a specific focus on improving Pakistan’s T20I bowling attack ahead of the home Sri Lanka series and the subsequent ODI tri-series with England.
Full T20I Squad for Sri Lanka Series
Pakistan T20I squad: Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Maaz Sadaqat, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim.
Notable inclusions from the Asian Games: Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Arafat Minhas, and Sufyan Moqim all retain their places after performing well in Japan. The Asian Games silver medal squad has essentially become the foundation of Pakistan’s new-look T20I group.
Notable absences: Babar Azam, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf are all absent from the T20I squad.
Full ODI Squad for Tri-Series
Pakistan ODI squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim.
Shaheen Shah Afridi continues as ODI captain. Babar returns to the ODI setup after missing the T20I squad. Haris Rauf is back in white-ball cricket after his President’s Trophy red-ball appearances. Salman Agha features as a batter and allrounder in the ODI group.
What This Means for Pakistan’s T20I Future
This appointment is the PCB making a generational statement about where Pakistan T20I cricket is heading. Farhan is 30 years old. He is not a teenager being thrown into captaincy. He is an experienced T20 cricketer with a proven track record across franchise cricket, bilateral series, and ICC tournaments.
The squad around him is built predominantly from the under-30 group that showed in Japan what Pakistani T20 cricket can produce when given time and trust. Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Arafat Minhas, Khawaja Nafay, and Mohammad Salman Mirza all represent a different Pakistani T20I profile from the Babar-Rizwan era. Their role in shaping Pakistan cricket’s leadership over the next decade is part of the broader story explored in our piece on Pakistan cricket team captaincy past and future.
The Series That Starts It All: Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi
The T20I series against Sri Lanka begins on Friday, October 9 in Rawalpindi. Three matches across five days give Farhan his first opportunity to lead Pakistan in a home bilateral T20I series. Sri Lanka arrive as opponents who know Pakistan’s home conditions well from two previous tours in 2024 and 2025.
This is not a soft introduction to the captaincy. Pakistan’s white-ball home schedule is one of the most demanding in cricket. Sri Lanka T20Is are followed immediately by the ODI tri-series against England and Sri Lanka. Then Pakistan Tests against Sri Lanka in November.
October and November represent the most significant home cricket Pakistan have played in years. It all begins with Farhan leading the side onto the Rawalpindi pitch on October 9. The full cricket history that produced the players Pakistan will be relying on in this new T20I era is explored in our piece on the best cricket players in Pakistan cricket history.
Conclusion
Salman Ali Agha has been removed as Pakistan’s T20I captain and dropped from the squad entirely. Sahibzada Farhan takes the captaincy. Babar Azam is absent from the T20I group. Shaun Tait is back as bowling coach. The 15-member squad for the Sri Lanka T20I series contains multiple Asian Games representatives. Pakistan cricket’s T20I identity is being rebuilt around a different generation of players with a different captain and a different philosophy. Friday in Rawalpindi is where the new chapter begins.
