Photo via India Today

Farhan named Pakistan T20I captain as Babar misses Sri Lanka series

Pakistan Cricket Board has named **Sahibzada Farhan** as the new T20I captain for the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka, replacing **Salman Ali Agha**—who has been excluded from the squad entirely. Farhan, who previously led Pakistan to a silver medal at the Asian Games, will now helm the senior team in the series set to begin on October 9 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

His appointment follows a strong individual performance during the tournament, where he emerged as one of the team’s standout players in the T20 format.

The squad announcement also marks the return of **Naseem Shah** to Pakistan’s T20I side after recovering from a knee injury, while **Razaullah** earns his maiden white-ball call-up following a promising Test debut in England. Notably, **Babar Azam** has been left out of the T20I squad, despite remaining part of the ODI lineup for the upcoming tri-series involving England and Sri Lanka.

Azam’s exclusion comes after a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign, where he scored just 91 runs in four innings, and struggles in recent domestic matches. Meanwhile, **Shaheen Shah Afridi** retains his ODI captaincy for the tri-series, while **Shaun Tait** returns as Pakistan’s bowling coach for the first time since 2022.

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