Babar Azam Excluded from Pakistan's Asian Games Squad as Sahibzada Farhan Takes Over Captaincy

Pakistan's Asian Games Team Announcement

In a surprising move, Pakistan has decided to leave out Babar Azam from their squad for the upcoming Asian Games, alongside captain Salman Ali Agha. Speculation regarding Azam's position in the T20I team had been growing, especially after the 2026 T20 World Cup, where he lost his spot in the playing XI. Following the World Cup, selectors also removed him from the ODI lineup.

Sahibzada Farhan has been appointed as the new captain, marking his debut in this role during the Asian Games set to take place in Japan. Farhan had an impressive performance in the T20 World Cup, emerging as the tournament's leading run-scorer with 383 runs across six innings, averaging 76.60. His remarkable tally included two centuries and two half-centuries, with a striking rate of 160.25.

In contrast, Azam struggled with the bat, accumulating only 91 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 112.34, while Salman managed 60 runs in six innings.

Squad: Sahibzada Farhan (c), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan

More updates to follow...