Shadab, Rauf to miss revamped Pakistan’s T20I tour of Bangladesh; Ahmed Daniyal, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem, Hasan Nawaz and Abbas Afridi are the newcomers to the side led by Salman Agha
Lahore (AM Khan): Salman Agha will lead a side without a recovering Shadab Khan and an injured Haris Rauf for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Mirpur, Dhaka, to be played between July 20 and 24.
Shadab has recently undergone surgery on his right shoulder and is currently recovering. Rauf, meanwhile, picked up a hamstring injury at the MLC, which has ruled him out of San Francisco Unicorns’ playoff matches. Apart from them, Irfan Khan Niazi, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim and Naseem Shah have been left out. Hasan, who was the top wicket-taker when Bangladesh toured Pakistan earlier, has been allowed to continue playing in England while selectors try out other options. Naseem and Shaheen Shah Afridi – also absent – are being considered for ODIs by Pakistan for the moment.
The replacements don’t bring a lot of experience with them. Ahmed Daniyal, the medium pacer, and Salman Mirza, the left-arm quick, are uncapped in international cricket, while left-arm wristspinner Sufiyan Muqeem is just ten T20Is old. Top-order batter Hasan Nawaz made his international debut earlier this year and has played just eight T20Is, although he also did have a stellar PSL season. Abbas Afridi, the medium pacer, is relatively more experienced, having played 21 T20Is since making his debut early last year.
Some of them were among the better performers at the PSL earlier this year. Abbas Afridi was the fourth-highest wicket-taker overall, with 17 wickets from 11 innings for Karachi Kings. Salman Mirza picked up nine wickets from just four games for Lahore Qalandars. Nawaz, meanwhile, was the third-highest run-scorer overall with 399 runs in ten innings for Quetta Gladiators, going at a strike rate of 162.19.
This is the second T20I series Pakistan will be playing under new white-ball coach Mike Hesson, with the next T20 World Cup scheduled for early 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.
The PCB announced calling up five ‘additional’ players for the white-ball and pre-Bangladesh series camp in Karachi, including the senior trio of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi. According to the cricket board, the training camp will be held at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi from July 9 to 15.
To participate in the training camp, national cricketers – part of the 15-member Pakistan squad for the upcoming away T20I series against Bangladesh – as well as the five additional players will report in Karachi later today.
Besides the senior trio of Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen, the five additional players include Mohammad Wasim Jr and Naseem Shah. “Members of Pakistan’s T20I squad will assemble in Karachi on Tuesday, while the additional players for the white-ball camp will also report the same day,” the cricket board said in a statement.
Speaking to the media following the announcement of Pakistan’s squad for the Bangladesh tour, PCB’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sumair Ahmad Syed revealed that talks are in the final stages with the Cricket West Indies (CWI) to revise the format of the upcoming white-ball series, potentially replacing the scheduled ODIs with additional T20Is and a decision is expected soon.
As per the initial schedule, Pakistan is set to play three T20Is and three ODIs against the West Indies on Caribbean soil. However, the PCB is pushing to transform the 50-over matches into T20 fixtures to align with preparations for the 2025 ACC Men’s Asia Cup and the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
“As you know, we have the T20 World Cup coming up early next year, so our aim is to give the team as much T20 exposure as possible,” Sumair said. “In line with that, we are going to play against Bangladesh, and we are also pushing the West Indies to convert the matches into T20s. You will get news on this in the next 1–2 days,” he added.
The PCB has stated that the squad for the West Indies tour will be announced once the series format is finalised. If ODIs remain part of the itinerary, two separate squads may be named.
15-member squad for Bangladesh series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza and Sufyan Moqim.
Team management: Naveed Akram Cheema (manager), Mike Hesson (head coach), Ashley Noffke (bowling coach), Muhammad Hanif Malik (batting Coach), Shane McDermott (fielding Coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Grant Luden (strength and conditioning coach), Talha Ejaz (analyst), Syed Naeem Ahmad (media manager), Irtaza Komail (security manager), Dr. Wajid Ali Rafai (doctor) and Muhammad Ehsan (masseur).
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