“Babar Azam’s form isn’t great, and Usman Khan isn’t performing either. If Babar was kept, Rizwan should have been included in the team too. Why was Haris Rauf dropped? Will playing all matches in Sri Lanka be an advantage or a disadvantage?”
These were the questions facing Pakistan Cricket Team captain Salman Ali Agha, head coach Mike Hesson, and Director of High Performance Aaqib Javed at the time of announcing Pakistan’s 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup scheduled for next month in India and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan’s 15-member squad includes: Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, and Usman Tariq.
The ICC T20 World Cup matches will begin on February 7 and continue until March 8. Pakistan’s first match is against the Netherlands on February 7.
Yesterday, following the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s refusal to send its team to India, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the inclusion of Scotland in the T20 World Cup.
“Mohsin Naqvi, the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board, had announced support for Bangladesh on this matter and stated that the decision regarding Pakistan’s participation in the mega-event would be made by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.”
“Justifying the decision to drop Haris Rauf from the T20 World Cup team, Aaqib Javed stated, ‘He has been playing cricket for a long time, but the decision not to include him in the squad was made after considering the conditions.‘
Aaqib Javed further remarked, ‘There is a significant difference between the cricketing conditions in Australia and those in Asia.‘”
“It is worth noting that questions were raised regarding Haris Rauf’s performance during last year’s Asia Cup. Specifically, in the final against India, he conceded 50 runs in just 3.4 overs, after which he faced significant criticism.
However, prior to the World Cup squad announcement, some former cricketers and analysts were urging for his inclusion in the team, citing his pace and death bowling skills. Conversely, others held the opposite view.
Haris Rauf is also currently performing well in the ongoing Big Bash League in Australia.”
“Aaqib Javed was asked that while he speaks of ‘modern-day cricket,’ Babar Azam’s batting does not align with it, so why was he included in the team? To this, Aaqib Javed replied, ‘You have to evaluate players keeping the conditions in mind. Babar Azam can prove to be effective in Sri Lankan conditions, where you don’t usually have to chase very large totals. He is technically a very strong batsman.‘
Defending Babar Azam’s inclusion despite his poor performance in the Big Bash League, Captain Salman Ali Agha stated that while Babar could not perform in Australia, he is playing well for Pakistan, and that is what matters to them.
Regarding the inclusion of Usman Khan, Head Coach Mike Hesson said that he secured victories by batting well in the final three matches of the Tri-Nation series held in Pakistan, while he is also performing very well as a wicketkeeper.
Mike Hesson further added that Usman Khan had also performed excellently behind the stumps during the series against Sri Lanka.”
Here is the translation into English:
“Playing all matches in Colombo will be an advantage”
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha stated that it is a reality that Pakistan will benefit from playing all their matches in Sri Lanka.
He remarked that just as India played all its Champions Trophy matches in Dubai and benefited from the conditions, India still had to play good cricket to win the tournament.
Salman Ali Agha said, “Other teams will have to come there to play against Pakistan, which will be an advantage for us. However, you cannot win by playing poor cricket; India won the Champions Trophy because they played well.”
He further added that looking at the conditions in Sri Lanka, it is evident that high scores will not be easy to come by.
Social Media Reaction
The announcement of the Pakistan cricket team squad is also being widely discussed on social media. Fans of Babar Azam are delighted with his return to the team, while his critics are targeting the team management over this decision.
Some users are also expressing their views on the dropping of Haris Rauf.
A user named Daniel Alexander wrote on X (formerly Twitter) regarding Babar Azam’s return, stating that he was happy to see the “152/0” captain back in the team. He also mentioned that he wanted to see Sufyan Muqeem in the squad as well.
In contrast, another user criticized Babar Azam, writing: “Babar Azam is a lucky cricketer; it is 2026, and he will play the T20 World Cup despite having a 1990s batting style.“
A user named KB wrote that this seems like a balanced team. “Best of luck to Team Pakistan, but they must play fearless cricket.”
Gohar commented that Sufyan Muqeem and Mohammad Wasim Jr. should also have been a part of the team.
Zia Randhawa posted on X, stating, “We have the best spin options available, but everything will depend on our batting. If the batting clicks, Pakistan will have a great chance of winning the World Cup.”
A user named Sherry noted, “This will be the first time since his debut that Haris Rauf will not be playing an ICC event for Pakistan.”
“In which group is Pakistan included?”
Pakistan is in Group A of the T20 World Cup, alongside defending champions India, the USA, the Netherlands, and Namibia.
- February 7: Pakistan will play its first match against the Netherlands in Colombo.
- February 10: Pakistan’s second match will be against the USA.
- February 15: Pakistan’s third match will be played against traditional rivals India, also in Colombo.
- February 18: Pakistan will play its final group match against Namibia.
