Pakistan’s squad announced for Sri Lanka T20 series; Babar Azam & Shaheen Afridi left out

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced Pakistan’s T20I squad to play the three-match series against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. The series starts on January 7. Fans can't see Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi, as the duo isn’t listed in the Squad. Haris Rauf is also missing from the squad. Now, all three players are playing in the Big Bash League (BBL), and it is likely because of overseas commitments. However, the return of Shadab Khan, who is also playing BBL currently, is included in the team.

Shadab Khan, the Pakistani all-rounder, few months ago, he had shoulder surgery. After the successful rehab at the National Cricket Academy, he is now playing for Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) for Sydney Thunder. Meanwhile, Babar hasn’t been playing well for the Sydney Sixers. In 4 matches, he scored just 71 runs at a strike rate of 110.1.

The performance of Babar gave in 2025 in T20Is, you can expect Pakistan will drop him again from the team. He wasn’t part of the Asia Cup squad as well. he just scored after returning and made 206 runs at an average of 34.33 and a very poor strike rate of 114.44.

Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi is representing the Brisbane Heat. He is having an awful stint so far, taking just 2 wickets at a horrible bowling average and economy of 76 and 11.19

Pakistan squad for PAK vs SL T20Is:

Salman Ali Agha (Captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (WK), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (WK), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (WK), Usman Tariq.