Babar Azam IN, Mohammad Rizwan OUT as Pakistan submit provisional squad for T20 World Cup 2026 - Reports

Pakistan are placed in Group A of ICC T20 World Cup 2026 and will play the tournament opener against Netherlands.

Pakistan Cricket Team have submitted their provisional squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 to the International Cricket Council (ICC), according to a report in Pakistan media. The Men in Green have named a 16-member squad for the ICC tournament, which will commence on February 7.

The report also revealed that Pakistan will announce their final 15-member squad after the conclusion of the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. Pakistan and Sri Lanka will clash in three T20I games from January 7 to 11.

While Salman Ali Agha has been named as the captain of Pakistan for T20 World Cup 2026, players like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Usman Khan have been named in the provisional squad. A notable exclusion is of former white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan.

In place of Rizwan, the Men in Green have gone ahead with Usman Khan. Moreover, Afridi is doubtful to make it to the final squad as he is still recovering from a knee injury. The left-arm pacer sustained the injury while playing in The Big Bash League (BBL) 2025-26 and was also ruled out of the tournament.

Hence, Rauf has been picked in the provisional squad and might make it to the final squad if Afridi fails to recover in time. Notably, Pakistan have refused to travel to India for the ICC tournament and will play all of their games in Sri Lanka.

Both India and Sri Lanka are co-hosts of the tournament. Pakistan are placed in Group A alongside India, Namibia, Netherlands, and USA. They will play the tournament opener on February 7 against Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. They will clash with arch-rivals India on February 15, which is going to be one of the thrilling games in the tournament.

Pakistan’s provisional squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2026- Reports

Salman Ali Agha (C), Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Abdul Samad, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan, Mohammed Wasim Jr.

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