LAHORE: Attacking opener Sahibzada Farhan was named captain as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) named a 15-member national T20 squad on Wednesday for this year’s Asian Games being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from Sept 19 to Oct 4.

The cricket competition at the continental extravaganza is scheduled to begin on Sept 24 at Korogi Athletic Park in Aichi Prefecture.

The 30-year-old Sahibzada, who has played 46 T20 Internationals for Pakistan, replaces Salman Ali Agha as captain. Abdul Samad, who has represented Pakistan in five T20s, has been named as vice-captain.

Notably, Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Salman have been left out of the squad.

Although the PCB did not provide any explanation for Salman’s removal as captain or the omission of several senior players, the decision may be linked to Pakistan’s forthcoming Test series in England set be held from Aug 19 to Sept 13. However, with nearly 11 days separating the conclusion of the Test series and the start of Pakistan’s Asian Games campaign, the absence of several key players appears questionable.

The cricket competition at the Asian Games is expected to be highly competitive, with leading Asian sides, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, also in contention.

Shaheen, who is most likely not to be the part of the Test series against England as his name is not mentioned in the ongoing red-ball training camp set up at the NCA, will not be competing in the Asian Games, which means he has been sidelined to just lead the ODI team.

Among the selected players, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat and Saad Masood are yet to make their T20 debuts for Pakistan.

Additionally, 14 of the 15 players named in the Asian Games squad are also part of the white-ball training camp, which commences at the National Cricket Academy on June 15.

Squad: Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan (wicket-keeper).

Officials: Mike Hesson (head coach), Ashley Noffke (bowling coach), Shane McDermott (fielding coach), Mohammad Tahir (physio), Imranullah (trainer), Usman Hashmi (analyst-cum-team operations coordinator).

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2026