The Pakistan cricket board has announced the squads for the upcoming home season. Pakistan will play a three match T20 series against Sri Lanka followed by an ODI tri series featuring England and Sri Lanka. The new announcements bring major changes to the national setup, and players from Karachi are right at the center of the action.
The selection proves once again that Karachi is the true wicketkeeping hub of Pakistan cricket. In a fascinating cycle of local talent, one Karachi keeper makes way for another Karachi keeper. Usman Khan leaves the setup for the upcoming series, opening the doors for two bright young stars from the city. Former Pakistan under 19 captain Saad Baig and Muhammad Ghazi Ghori have both been selected for the 50 over matches.
The story is just as interesting in the T20 squad. Khawaja Nafay makes his return to the shortest format, replacing Usman Khan. This continues a close selection battle between the two players, as Usman Khan had previously replaced Khawaja Nafay in the national side. Meanwhile Khawaja Nafay is the only specialist keeper in the T20 squad.
Karachi maintains incredible strength across both formats with its top talent. Elegant opening batsman Saim Ayub (ranked No. 2 in T20 all-rounders) and mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed (the recent T20 No. 1) have both secured their places in the T20 and ODI squads.
The leadership roles see big updates too. Sahibzada Farhan takes over the T20 captaincy after his successful silver medal run at the Asian Games. Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead the team as the captain for the ODI tri series.
This tournament marks the second consecutive year that Pakistan is hosting an ODI triangular series, following the tournament with South Africa and New Zealand held last year before the Champions Trophy.
For the visiting teams, this series brings familiar surroundings. England last played in Pakistan during their Champions Trophy campaign, where they were eliminated in the group stages after losing to Australia and Afghanistan in Lahore and to South Africa in Karachi. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is making their second trip to Pakistan within a twelve month period. They previously suffered a three zero defeat in a bilateral ODI series here and also competed in a T20 triangular series against Pakistan and Zimbabwe in November 2025.
The T20 international matches against Sri Lanka will take place at the Rawalpindi cricket stadium from October 9 to October 13. Following those games, the ODI tri series will run from October 18 to October 31 across the stadiums in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
Pakistan T20 squad
Sahibzada Farhan (capt), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Maaz Sadaqat, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim Pakistan ODI squad
Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wk), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim
