Haris Rauf dropped as Pakistan unveil 15-member squad for T20 World Cup 2026
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board on Sunday announced a 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, set to be kicked off from February 7.
Pacer Haris Rauf, who last represented Pakistan in the shortest format in September last year, could not make it to the squad.
The squad was unveiled during a press conference addressed by the PCB Director High Performance and member men’s national selection committee Aqib Javed, Pakistan’s T20I captain Salman Ali Agha and white-ball head coach Michael Hesson at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Skipper Salman Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Nafay, Salman Mirza and Usman Tariq have received their maiden mega-event call-ups.
Meanwhile, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Usman Khan have featured in one or more editions of the tournament since 2021.
Mohammad Rizwan, who was sidelined from the national T20 squad since December 2024, will be missing his first T20 World Cup after featuring in three editions in 2021, 2022, and 2024.
The 2009 champions will play all of their matches in Sri Lanka as per the ‘Fusion Formula’, which states that Pakistan or India will not visit each other for any ICC tournaments for three years and will instead play their respective matches at a neutral venue.
If Pakistan progresses to the semi-finals and final, both knockout matches will be hosted in Colombo. Otherwise, the semi-finals and final will take place in Kolkata and Ahmedabad, respectively.
When asked about Rauf and his performance in the Big Bash League (BBL), Javed said that the pacer had served Pakistan for a long time, but in recent matches, a different combination was chosen.
“We are playing our matches in Sri Lanka, and we finalised the squad based on the conditions there,” he added.
On Babar’s inclusion, the PCB director of high performance said, “definitely, he is the most consistent batsman,” and has a specific role in the team.
“During the last Asia Cup, we felt the team needed a player who could perform in challenging situations. It’s a specific role, especially considering the conditions in Sri Lanka,” he explained.
It is pertinent to mention that the green shirts will kick off their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on February 7 in Colombo.
Pakistan have been placed in Group A alongside India, the USA, the Netherlands and Namibia and will play all its matches in Sri Lanka.
They will then face the USA on February 10, arch-rivals India on February 15 and Namibia on February 18 in their final group-stage match.
For the unversed, the Super Eight round is scheduled to begin on February 21 in Colombo and conclude on March 1 in Kolkata.
The first semi-final will be held on March 3, the second on March 5, with the grand finale set for March 8 in Ahmedabad or Colombo.
Squad
Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq.
