Top 5 players dropped from Pakistan squad for Asian Games 2026 ft. Babar Azam
Sahibzada Farhan will lead Pakistan at the Asian Games 2026.
The Asian Games 2026 will be the next-biggest multi-nation tournament between cricket teams from Asia this year. The tournament will be played from September 19 to October 4. The cricket matches will take place from September 24 to October 3.
A total of 10 teams will participate in the Asian Games 2026. Japan’s Aichi-Nagoya city will host the entire tournament. On June 10, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced their squad for the Asian Games 2026.
Sahibzada Farhan has been named Pakistan‘s captain for the Asian Games, which will be played in the T20I format. Many key players have been sidelined for the tournament, as the PCB has selected many youngsters and a few uncapped players.
On that note, below are the top five Pakistan players dropped for the Asian Games 2026.
5. Shaheen Afridi
Pacer Shaheen Afridi is not part of Pakistan’s squad for the Asian Games. The right-arm pacer led their pace attack in the T20 World Cup and finished as the team’s second-highest wicket-taker with eight wickets. With more than 100 T20Is in his kitty, Afridi is among the most experienced pacers for the side.
4. Salman Ali Agha
Interestingly, Salman Ali Agha is Pakistan’s full-time T20I captain. However, Sahibzada Farhan has been given the reins of the side for the Asian Games, despite having no experience leading a side in the white-ball format.
Under Salman’s captaincy, Pakistan could not reach the semi-final of the T20 World Cup and also lost against their arch-rivals India. This might be the reason for his ouster from the Asian Games.
3. Fakhar Zaman
Veteran Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman is another senior batter who is not part of the Asian Games 2026. He also participated in the T20 World Cup, playing three matches throughout the tournament.
He gave a brilliant performance in two innings, scoring 109 runs at an average of 54.50 and a strike rate of 187.93, including one half-century.
2. Shadab Khan
Shadab Khan can be termed the best all-rounder to ever play for Pakistan in T20Is. The spin all-rounder has played 123 T20Is so far and picked 123 scalps. With the bat, he has scored 1009 runs.
He also gave a decent performance in the T20 World Cup, scoring 118 runs at a strike rate of 153 and picking five wickets. However, PCB has overlooked the senior all-rounder in the Asian Games squad.
1. Babar Azam
The most surprising name missing from the Asian Games squad is former Pakistan captain Babar Azam. Despite having played 144 T20Is, the right-handed batsman has been ignored for the Asian Games squad. He also played in the T20 World Cup in February, where he could not perform well.
Azam has played in nine T20I games this year, scoring 167 runs in seven innings at an average of 27.83 with a lone fifty. Hence, Babar has struggled to impress with his performance in the shortest format this year.
Who will lead Pakistan at the Asian Games 2026?
Sahibzada Farhan will lead Pakistan at the Asian Games 2026.
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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.