Babar Azam dropped as Pakistan announce squad for ODI series against Bangladesh
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Pakistan and Bangladesh will lock horns in three ODI matches.
Pakistan have announced their squad for the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh. Pakistan‘s tour of Bangladesh 2026 will witness three ODI matches.
The opening game will take place on March 11 at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The next two games will also be played at the same venue on March 13 and 15, respectively.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has retained Shaheen Afridi as the captain for this series. The 15-member squad includes Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Ghazi Ghori as wicketkeepers.
Pakistan have dropped senior batter Babar Azam from the series. He was part of the last ODI series against Sri Lanka in November 2025, where he finished as the joint-highest run-scorer with 165 runs including a century.
He also featured in T20 World Cup 2026, however, gave a flop performance. This might be the reason for his absence from the Bangladesh ODIs. Moreover, another experienced batter Fakhar Zaman is absent from the squad.
Pacer Haris Rauf will lead the pace attack alongside captain Afridi, while Naseem Shah has been overlooked for the series. The squad also includes six uncapped ODI players, namely Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan, and Shamyl Hussain.
For Bangladesh, the series will mark their return to the ODI format after October last year, when they hosted West Indies. In the three-match series, Bangladesh outplayed the visitors 2-1.
The Asian team were removed from T20 World Cup 2026 by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over their refusal to travel to India. They were replaced by Scotland in the tournament.
Here’s Pakistan’s squad for the ODI series against Bangladesh
Shaheen Afridi (Captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Moaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Rizwan (Wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jr., Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (Wicketkeeper), Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, and Shamyl Hussain.
BAN vs PAK ODI series 2026 schedule
| Date | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Wed, Mar 11 | 1st ODI | Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka |
| Fri, Mar 13 | 2nd ODI | Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka |
| Sun, Mar 15 | 3rd ODI | Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka |
How many ODIs will be played between Pakistan and Bangladesh?
Three ODI games will be played between Pakistan and Bangladesh.
What is Pakistan’s squad for ODI series against Bangladesh?
Pakistan squad: Shaheen Afridi (Captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Moaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (WK), Mohammad Wasim Jr., Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Shamyl Hussain.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.