Sahibzada Farhan takes over Pakistan T20 captaincy as Salman Ali Agha dropped

Pakistan have named top-order batter Sahibzada Farhan as their new T20I captain for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, taking over the role from Salman Ali Agha. Agha, who led the team at the 2026 T20 World Cup, has been dropped completely from the 15-member T20 squad. However, Agha will stay in the ODI setup, where Shaheen Shah Afridi remains captain for an upcoming tri-nation series involving England and Sri Lanka. Former captain Babar Azam has also been included in that ODI squad.

Schedule

Pakistan's three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka starts on Friday, October 9, in Rawalpindi. Following that, the ODI tri-series begins on October 18 using a double round-robin format, with the final scheduled for October 31 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Form And Selections

Farhan top-scored at the T20 World Cup earlier this year and recently led Pakistan to a silver medal at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. He hit 383 runs at a strike rate of 160, setting the record for most runs in a single T20 World Cup edition. Several players from that Asian Games squad keep their places in the senior side, including Abdul Samad, Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Arafat Minhas, Maaz Sadaqat, Abrar Ahmed, Sufiyan Moqim, and Mohammad Salman Mirza. Meanwhile, Farhan is not part of the 16-member ODI squad. Other players like Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf, Razaullah, Saad Baig, and Saim Ayub join the ODI team alongside Hasan Nawaz, who scored 96 in the Asian Games final against India.

Context

Captaincy changes in international cricket often follow major multi-team tournaments as selectors look to build new squads for upcoming cycles. Bilateral series and tri-nation tournaments serve as key testing grounds for teams to evaluate combinations ahead of future global events.