The cricketers Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi have returned to the Pakistan Squad for the upcoming T20I series against Australia ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
The selectors have picked the leading pair for the upcoming home series in Australia tour of Pakistan 2026, which will be part of preparations for the marquee event in India and Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan and Haris Rauf were not picked for Pakistan’s previous assignment against Sri Lanka. However, all four played in the Big Bash League, where Rauf had a successful season, while Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen struggled in their maiden stint in the competition.
Babar Azam scored 202 runs in 11 games with a top score of 85*, at a strike rate of 103.06. On the other hand, Shaheen picked only two wickets at an average of 11.19 in four games for Brisbane Heat.
Haris Rauf hasn’t played T20 cricket for Pakistan since the Asia Cup last year, was ignored for selection for the Australia series. Notably, he is currently the most wicket taker in BBL 2025-26 with 20 scalps in 11 games at 16.75 each and an economy rate of 8.23.
Shadab Khan who had returned recently to Pakistan setup, retains his place led by Salman Agha.
The spin department will be headed by Shadab Khan, who also marked his return to Pakistan squad for Australia T20 setup against Lanka, with strong support from Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Tariq.
The three match T20I series has been scheduled for January 29, 31 and February 01. The Pakistan squad are set to assemble on January 24 while Australia squad will arrive in the country on January 28 for the series.
Pakistan Squad for Australia T20s: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Usman Tariq
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