3 big names dropped from Pakistan T20I squad for Australia series, ft. Haris Rauf

Prominent Pakistan players dropped vs Australia [Source: X]

On Friday, Pakistan revealed their 16-member squad for the upcoming T20I series against Australia, starting from January 29. Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi, two stalwarts, are back in the team, and youngster Khwaja Nafay has been given another chance after his impressive outing against Sri Lanka, recently.

However, there were also some star performers who were left out of the team. In this piece, we analyse prominent Pakistan players who were omitted from the Pakistan T20I squad.

1) Haris Rauf

Haris Rauf is a big name in Pakistan cricket, but his omission from the side didn’t surprise anyone. While his wicket-taking ability is one of the best in the business, so is his ability to concede runs.

This fact was well evident during the Asia Cup 2025 final against India when Pakistan had the game in the palm of its hands, but Rauf conceded 50 runs in just 22 balls to swing the game in India’s favour. Moreover, his economy in the T20I matches is also questionable in recent times.

(Haris Rauf T20I stats in 2025)

• In 2025, Rauf was one of Pakistan’s highest wicket-takers in the format; however, his economy was on the higher side (9.11). In fact, his economy rate in 2025 was his highest since his T20I debut in 2020.
• His inability to steer Pakistan home in high-octane games (like against India) is also a major factor in why he was dropped from the Australia series.

2) Hasan Ali

Hasan Ali had an outstanding Big Bash League tournament, wherein he was one of Pakistan’s best performers. However, despite bowling in tricky Australian conditions, and that too in the powerplay, his name was not put forward for the Australia series.

(Hasan Ali in BBL)

• The pacer was mainly utilised in the powerplay, and despite that, he had an economy of just 8, and also managed to pick up 9 wickets for his side.
• The current Pakistan team has an injured Shaheen Afridi, a hit-and-miss Salman Mirza and an unproven Mohammad Wasim Jr. Hence, the team could have included the right-arm pacer, Hasan Ali for a bit of experience against a strong batting opposition.

3) Sufiyan Muqeem

Having a mystery spinner in the team is always a blessing, but Pakistan decided to trust other spin bowlers as Sufiyan Muqeem was once again neglected by the team for the Australia series.

He has an impressive record in T20Is, and Pakistan should have kept him alongside Abrar Ahmed in the team as their style of bowling complements each other.

(Sufiyan Muqeem in T20Is)

• The mystery spinner has been a genuine wicket-taker for Pakistan in T20Is and already has 27 in 19 games. Moreover, his economy is just above 6 runs per over, and he would have been useful against the Australian side as their batters generally struggle against quality spinners.
• Instead of Usman Tariq, who is still unproven, Pakistan could have gone in with the quality of Sufiyan in the squad.
  

Final verdict

While Pakistan has revealed a strong team for the Australian series, they have dropped three big names from their team. While the call to drop Haris Rauf and, to some extent, Hasan Ali was fair enough, the decision to omit Sufiyan Muqeem could come back to haunt the Men in Green.