Pakistan have named former captain Babar Azam in their 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, while fast bowler Haris Rauf has been omitted from the final selection.

The squad was announced ahead of the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka February 7, 2025, to March 8, 2025.

Despite mixed performances in recent franchise cricket, Babar Azam has retained the confidence of the selectors and is expected to play a key role in the batting line-up.

However, the exclusion of fast bowler Haris Rauf has been one of the major talking points of the squad announcement.

The fast bowler, who has been a regular feature in Pakistan’s T20 side and a leading wicket-taker in recent years, misses out despite his experience in international and league cricket.

The selection panel has opted for a balanced combination suited to subcontinental conditions, with a strong focus on versatile all-rounders and varied bowling options.

The squad includes senior players such as Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan, alongside several emerging talents.

Officials indicated that recent form, fitness and team requirements played a key role in the final selection.

The management believes the chosen squad offers the right mix of experience and flexibility for the tournament.

Pakistan will begin their campaign against the Netherlands in Colombo on February 7, 2025, before taking on the United States, India and Namibia in Group A.

The team will be aiming to build momentum early as they target a strong run in the competition.

The squad announcement also comes against the backdrop of Bangladesh withdrawing from the mega tournament citing security concerns.

It may be mentioned here that the Bangladesh Cricket Board had earlier requested the International Cricket Council to either shift their matches to Sri Lanka or place them in a different group- both demands, however, were rejected by the ICC.

The BCB's demand to shift Bangladesh's matches to Sri Lanka were supported by the Pakistan Cricket Board and pundits assumed that PCB might also pull out of the tournament in solidarity of Bangladesh.

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