Asian Games: No Babar, Shaheen as Sahibzada Farhan to lead Pakistan's young squad

Pakistan have named Sahibzada Farhan captain for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with the Pakistan Cricket Board opting for a young 15-member squad and leaving out several established white-ball names, including Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Ali Agha and Shadab Khan.

Abdul Samad has been named vice-captain, while four players in the squad, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat and Saad Masood, are yet to make their T20I debuts for Pakistan.

The selection marks a clear shift in approach following Pakistan's recent tournament disappointments. They exited the recently concluded T20 World Cup at the Super 8 stage and also fell short against India in the Asia Cup final.

Against that backdrop, the PCB has chosen a squad built around emerging players for a multi-sport event in which the men's cricket competition begins on September 24, with the medal matches scheduled for October 3.

Farhan, 30, is among the most experienced players in the squad. He has played 46 T20Is for Pakistan, scoring 1,305 runs, including two centuries and 10 fifties, and finished as the leading run-scorer at the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Despite those credentials, he has never led Pakistan in either white-ball format. Samad has played five T20Is but has not featured in the format for Pakistan since March last year. More recently, he was part of the ODI series against Australia.

The PCB's selection underlines its stated focus on giving younger players greater exposure. In a release, the board said: "Among the 15-member squad, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat and Saad Masood are the four players yet to represent Pakistan in the T20I format. Additionally, 14 of the 15 players selected for the Asian Games squad are part of the NCA White-Ball Camp, which is set to commence in Lahore from Monday, 15 June."

The composition of the squad reflects the board's broader development plans, with the majority of the players already integrated into the NCA's white-ball programme ahead of the tournament.

Usman Khan has been selected as the primary wicketkeeper in a squad that looks markedly different from the one Pakistan fielded at the T20 World Cup earlier this year.

Senior players and established leaders have been left out, with the selectors instead backing a younger group that includes Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saim Ayub and Sufyan Moqim alongside the uncapped quartet.

Cricket has featured at the Asian Games on three occasions: 2010, 2014 and 2022. Pakistan finished fourth in the most recent edition, held in 2023, after winning one match and losing two.

This time, the PCB has chosen to use the event as an opportunity to accelerate its transition, handing Farhan his first leadership role and surrounding him with a squad drawn heavily from the NCA white-ball camp.

Pakistan's squad for the Asian Games: Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper). The headline decision is clear: no Babar, no Shaheen, and a tournament squad built around younger players, with Farhan asked to lead the reset.