LAHORE: Former captains Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi have been recalled to Pakistan’s Twenty20 squad for the three-match home series against Australia, while pacer Haris Rauf has been left out, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced on Friday.

Salman Ali Agha will continue as captain for the series, which will be Pakistan’s final bilateral assignment before the ICC T20 World Cup, starting in India and Sri Lanka on Feb 7.

Babar, who missed the recent Sri Lanka series due to his commitments in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), cut short his campaign to join the national camp. The 31-year-old has been included to bolster the middle order despite a modest outing in the BBL.

Shaheen, meanwhile, makes a comeback after recovering from a knee injury sustained during the BBL. The left-arm fast bowler has been declared fit following medical assessments in Pakistan.

However, there was no place for Haris Rauf despite an impressive BBL campaign in which he claimed 20 wickets.

Pakistan have retained much of the core that toured Sri Lanka and featured in the recent tri-nation series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. While several players showed promise in those contests, the team will be under pressure to improve its consistency against world No.2 Australia, especially with Pakistan currently placed seventh in the T20I rankings.

The pace attack includes Shaheen, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Salman Mirza and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf. In the spin department, Abrar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Usman Tariq have been selected.

Shadab continues his comeback following his return in the previous T20I series.

The batting line-up features Fakhar Zaman, Babar, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, along with wicket-keepers Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan and Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, who impressed on debut in Sri Lanka earlier this month.

Australia will arrive in Lahore on Jan 28 and the series will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium on Jan 29, Jan 31 and Feb 1.

The national squad and support staff are expected to assemble in Lahore on Jan 24 and begin preparations the following day.

After the series, Pakistan will travel to Sri Lanka to play their World Cup matches under the hybrid model, while Australia will head to India for the tournament.

Pakistan’s squad for the World Cup will be announced next week. The 2009 champions will begin their Group ‘A’ campaign against the Netherlands in Colombo on Feb 7.

Squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicket-keeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicket-keeper), Usman Tariq.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2026