Nine changes named as Pakistan announce T20 side that will face Bangladesh in a 3-match series next week onwards.
Sahibzada Farhan is among nine changes to the side that toured New Zealand in March.
Farhan has been called up to the Pakistan T20I team for the three-match series against Bangladesh later this month as a reward for his outstanding play in the current PSL 2025. Saim Ayub and Hasan Ali are also joining the side.
Since suffering an injury during the Test series in South Africa in January, Ayub has not played for his country. Despite Peshawar Zalmi’s mediocre performance—174 runs in ten innings at an average of 17.40 and a strike rate of 125.17—he makes his comeback after missing all of the cricket between that series and the PSL, including the Champions Trophy.
With 15 PSL wickets for Karachi Kings, Hasan, who was last in the team in May 2024, has fought his way back. He is now tied for second place with Abrar Ahmed and Jason Holder, and just behind Abbas Afridi, who has 17 wickets. Meanwhile, Abbas is among the players who have been benched.
After his previous T20I appearance in December of last year, Farhan essentially forced the selectors to recall him. He presently leads the PSL in scoring with 394 runs at a strike rate of 154.50 while playing for Islamabad United. He has also reached two half-centuries and a century.
Along with Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim, and Naseem Shah, Fakhar Zaman, Hussain Talat, and Faheem Ashraf are all returning, lending the team a seasoned and reliable look.
Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi, however, have no place. When Salman Agha was announced as the new T20I captain earlier this year, Babar and Rizwan were removed from the T20I series in New Zealand. Afridi participated in that tour’s T20Is but has since been excluded.
Mike Hesson, who joined Pakistan earlier this month as their white-ball head coach, will also be making his debut during the three-match series against Bangladesh.