Babar back! Pakistan announce squad for ICC Men's T20 World Cup

by Devesh Jaganath

image Babar back! Pakistan announce squad for ICC Men's T20 World Cup
We are now less than two weeks away from the start of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup, and Pakistan have become the latest team to confirm their squad for the global showpiece. Salman Ali Agha will lead the Shaheens into battle, while former skipper Babar Azam is set the make his return to the squad.

Rauf, Rizwan among high-profile omissions for T20 WC

The Pakistan Cricket Board have now confirmed the 15-man squad that will represent the nation at the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup, with Salman Ali Agha set to lead the team into battle. 

The most notable inclusion for the global showpiece is Babar Azam, who is retruning to the Shaheens’ squad after missing their recent T20I series against Sri Lanka due to his participation in the Big Bash League with the Sydney Sixers. 

Azam will bolster the team’s solid top order, which features Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman and skipper Agha. We will be covering all of the matches at the tournament in India and Colombo in our in-depth cricket predictions over the coming weeks. 

In terms of the most notable exclusions, Haris Rauf and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan will miss the tournament next month. Naseem Shah is expected to spearhead Pakistan’s bowling attack alongside express paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi. 

Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz are the specialist all-rounders to make the cut. Pakistan have been drawn into Group A for the tournament, alongside arch-rivals India, the Netherlands, the United States and Namibia. 

Pakistan T20 World Cup fixtures: 

  • Pakistan vs Netherlands: February 7, Colombo
  • Pakistan vs USA: February 10, Colombo
  • Pakistan vs India: February 15, Colombo
  • Pakistan vs Namibia: February 18, Colombo

Pakistan confirmed T20 World Cup 2026 squad

Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq.