Pakistan Cricket Team Players List 2026 — Full Squad (All Formats)

Updated: 10 October 2026. Squads change series to series — check series pages for the latest XI.

T20I squad (Sri Lanka series, Oct 2026)

Sahibzada Farhan (c), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Nawaz, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Maaz Sadaqat, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Muqeem.

Key names across formats

Player profiles: the core

Babar Azam — Still the batting mainstay in ODIs and Tests (143 ODIs, 6,626 runs at 53.43), but 2026 has been the most turbulent year of his career: dropped from the T20I squad after a poor T20 World Cup, then handed the Test captaincy. Everything about Pakistan's red-ball rebuild runs through him now.

Shaheen Afridi — The ODI captain and the attack's leader across formats. When he's fit and firing with the new ball, Pakistan are a different team; when he's not, the whole bowling unit looks ordinary. The tri-series is his first big assignment as ODI skipper.

Naseem Shah — The most naturally gifted quick in the country. Injuries have interrupted him, but his ability to move the ball both ways at pace makes him undroppable when fit. Forms a proper new-ball pair with Shaheen.

Saim Ayub — The future, arriving early. A naturally gifted timer of the ball with three ODI hundreds already and the kind of effortless power that can't be coached. Pakistan haven't produced a talent like him in a decade.

Sahibzada Farhan — The surprise T20I captain. Was the 2026 T20 World Cup's leading run-scorer (383 runs at a strike rate of 160), and the selectors responded by handing him the team. An aggressive top-order batter now learning leadership on the job.

Shadab Khan — The white-ball all-rounder: leg-spin, sharp fielding, and late-order hitting. His form with the ball has wobbled in the past, but his all-round package keeps him central to the T20 and ODI plans.

Fakhar Zaman — The veteran opener. Destructive on his day, streaky on others — but his experience at the top of white-ball innings is something this young squad needs.

Abrar Ahmed — The mystery spinner. Reads poorly from the hand, which makes him gold in T20s and increasingly trusted in Tests. Pakistan's spin future.

Hassan Nawaz — The breakout story of 2026. Fastest Pakistani T20I hundred (105* off 45 balls vs New Zealand, March 2025) and a fearless middle-order hitter at 24. Exactly the kind of player the old Pakistan system used to overlook.

Leadership

Three captains for three formats tells you where Pakistan cricket is: transition, experimentation, and a selectors' room that isn't afraid of bold calls. Farhan's appointment was the boldest — a 2026 World Cup star handed the T20I team with minimal leadership experience. Babar's Test captaincy is the steadier bet: the best batter leading the rebuild.

The next wave

Beyond the established names, watch Sufiyan Muqeem (PSL 2026's leading wicket-taker and Player of the Tournament), Khawaja Nafay (young keeper-batter in the T20I squad), and Maaz Sadaqat — the kind of domestic performers the new selection policy is actually picking. The pipeline is healthier than it has been in years.

The player I'm most excited about is Saim Ayub — Pakistan haven't produced a naturally gifted timer like him in a decade.

And honestly, keep an eye on how they handle Babar. Dropping your best batter from T20Is while making him Test captain is a high-wire act — get it right and it's masterful man-management; get it wrong and it festers.

Related: Babar Azam ODI stats · Shaheen Afridi stats · Saim Ayub stats · Hassan Nawaz profile · Pakistan's 2027 World Cup squad prediction