Salman Agha to Lead New-Look Pakistan Squad for T20I Series Against Bangladesh

Pakistan have named a youthful and experimental squad for their upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, set to take place in Mirpur from July 20 to 24. With senior players Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf ruled out due to injury, Salman Agha has been handed the captaincy.

Shadab is recovering from shoulder surgery, while Rauf suffered a hamstring injury during the MLC, ruling him out of the San Francisco Unicorns’ playoff matches. Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim, Irfan Khan Niazi, and Hasan Ali are also missing from the squad that swept Bangladesh 3-0 at home in May–June. Hasan, previously the top wicket-taker against Bangladesh, has been allowed to continue playing in England.

In their place, the selectors have turned to emerging talent. Left-arm quick Salman Mirza and right-arm seamer Ahmed Daniyal are uncapped, while left-arm wristspinner Sufiyan Muqeem has just ten T20Is to his name. Big-hitting top-order batter Hasan Nawaz and fast bowler Abbas Afridi bring some T20 experience and recent PSL form. Nawaz, who scored 399 runs at a strike rate of over 162 in PSL 2025, was the third-highest run-scorer, while Afridi took 17 wickets in 11 innings for Karachi Kings.

This will be Pakistan’s second T20I series under new white-ball coach Mike Hesson, as the team builds toward the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) stated that the squad for the white-ball series against the West Indies in August will be announced soon. COO Summer Syed also revealed discussions are ongoing with Cricket West Indies to convert the scheduled ODIs into T20Is, aligning with the World Cup preparations.

Pakistan T20I Squad vs Bangladesh:
Salman Agha (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem.