Haris Rauf dropped
\nSkipper Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Nafay, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq receive maiden mega-event call-ups
\n LAHORE
\nThe Pakistan Cricket Board on Sunday announced a 15-member squad for the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026, set to be kicked off from February 7.
\nPacer Haris Rauf, who last represented Pakistan in the shortest format in September last year, could not make it to the squad.
\nThe squad was unveiled during a press conference addressed by the PCB Director High Performance and member men\u2019s national selection committee Aqib Javed, Pakistan\u2019s T20I captain Salman Ali Agha and white-ball head coach Michael Hesson at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
\nSkipper Salman Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Nafay, Salman Mirza and Usman Tariq have received their maiden mega-event call-ups.
\nMeanwhile, 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.
\nMohammad 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.
\nThe 2009 champions will play all of their matches in Sri Lanka as per the \u2018Fusion Formula\u2019, 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.
\nIf 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.
\nWhen 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.
\n\u201cWe are playing our matches in Sri Lanka, and we finalised the squad based on the conditions there,\u201d he added.
\nOn Babar\u2019s inclusion, the PCB director of high performance said, \u201cdefinitely, he is the most consistent batsman,\u201d and has a specific role in the team.
\n\u201cDuring the last Asia Cup, we felt the team needed a player who could perform in challenging situations. It\u2019s a specific role, especially considering the conditions in Sri Lanka,\u201d he explained.
\nResponding to a question regarding omission of Rizwan, Hesson said that they are looking for a wicket-keeper who can bat in the middle or lower-middle order. \u201cRizwan is a top-order batter, and there is no spot in that role for a wicket-keeper.\u201d
\nHe also lauded Usman Khan, who is set to make his second appearance in the T20 World Cup, calling his performance \u201cexceptional\u201d since his comeback.
\n\u201cHis wicketkeeping has probably bigger than expected, especially the way he kept in Sri Lanka,\u201d Hesson added.
\nIt is pertinent to mention that the green shirts will kick off their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on February 7 in Colombo.
\nPakistan have been placed in Group A alongside India, the USA, the Netherlands and Namibia and will play all its matches in Sri Lanka.
\nThey 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.
\nSquad
\nSalman 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Haris Rauf dropped Skipper Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Nafay, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq receive maiden mega-event call-ups LAHORE The Pakistan Cricket Board on Sunday announced a 15-member squad for the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026, set to be kicked off from February 7. Pacer Haris Rauf, who last represented Pakistan in the shortest format […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-527735","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n