Babar, Naseem return as PCB name squads for white-ball series

Lahore, Oct 23 Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced 15-member T20I and 16-man ODI squads for the upcoming white-ball series against South Africa, Sri Lanka, and a tri-series involving the Lankans and Zimbabwe.

The series will see Babar Azam, Abdul Samad and Naseem Shah return to the setup. Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf and Haseebullah return to the side for the ODIs. Moreover, Usman Tariq is the only uncapped player in the T20I squad.

Babar, who last featured in a T20I in December 2024 series against South Africa in Centurion, had been out of the side for the Bangladesh, West Indies, and Asia Cup 2025 series.

Meanwhile, Salman Ali Agha has been retained as the T20I captain and Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead the national team in ODIs for the first time.

Pakistan, currently playing a Test series at home against South Africa at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, will next face the Proteas in a three-match T20I and ODI series before hosting Sri Lanka for a three-match ODI series.

Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe will then face off in a T20I tri-series, in the build-up to the T20 World Cup 2026. Originally, Afghanistan was the third team in the tri-series, besides Pakistan and Sri Lanka. However, they pulled out of the series amid the ongoing political tensions with their host nation.

The T20I series between Pakistan and South Africa will take place in Rawalpindi and Lahore from October 28 to November 1, while the ODI series will be hosted by the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad from November 4 to 8.

The ODI series will be succeeded by three additional ODIs against Sri Lanka at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, scheduled from November 11 to 15. Afterwards, the T20I tri-series will take place from November 17 to 29, with the games scheduled to be played across venues in Rawalpindi and Lahore.

T20I squad:

Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wicket-keeper), Usman Tariq

Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Moqim

ODI squad:

Shahen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha

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