Pakistan Change T20 Captains Four Times in Two and a Half Years

Sports Desk

Pakistan have named Sahibzada Farhan as captain, replacing Salman Agha, for this week’s T20I series against Sri Lanka, but Shaheen Shah Afridi has been retained as the ODI captain.

Farhan is the fourth captain of the Pakistan T20 team in two and a half years. He recently led Pakistan’s second-tier team at the Asian Games in Japan, where the team had to settle for a silver medal after losing to arch-rivals India on Saturday.
While no specific reason was given for Salman Agha’s removal, the selectors have indicated that the decision is part of the process of building a new team ahead of the 2028 T20 World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand. Under Agha’s leadership, Pakistan won 31 of 50 T20 matches but failed to reach the semi-finals of this year’s World Cup.
Shaheen Shah Afridi and Babar Azam have been left out of the 15-man squad for the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka to be played in Rawalpindi on October 9, 11 and 13.
On the other hand, all-rounder Rezaullah, who impressed on his Test debut against England at Edgbaston last month with 81 runs and 4 wickets, has been called up for the first time in both formats.
Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead Pakistan in the tri-nation ODI series against Sri Lanka and England starting from October 18 in Rawalpindi. However, experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan, who was dropped from the T20 team earlier this year, has been dropped from the ODI team as well. Rizwan is currently facing an investigation by Pakistan’s Cyber ​​Crime Agency for leaking confidential team information.
Pakistan’s T20 squad:
Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Imran, Khawaja Nafe, Maj Sadaqat, Naseem Shah, Rezaullah, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan, Sufyan Mukim.
Pakistan ODI squad:
Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Fahim Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Rezaullah, Saad Baig, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufian Mukim.