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Babar Azam for Pakistan - (Source: AFP)
On Wednesday, Pakistan named a 15-member squad for the Asian Games 2026. The prestigious event will commence in Japan on September 19. For the Men in Green, Sahibzada Farhan will lead the side for the first time in his career.
Unlike India, Pakistan have not named a particularly strong side. They have a few big names, but it is not a star-studded squad. Several big names are missing from the 15-member list, and this article will look at those big names missing from Pakistan’s Asian Games 2026 squad.
Pakistan’s Squad For Asian Games 2026
Sahibzada Farhan (C), Abdul Samad (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan (wk), Sufiyan Muqeem.
Big Names Missing From Pakistan’s Asian Games Squad 2026
1. Shadab Khan
Shadab Khan has been playing consistently for Pakistan in the last few months. The 27-year-old was there for T20 World Cup, followed by the PSL and the recently concluded series against Australia. Hence, it was expected that Shadab would be there on the flight to Japan, given that he had done decently well.
2. Babar Azam
Babar Azam was heavily criticised for being a part of the T20I set-up until PSL 2026. The right-handed batter had a great season, where he scored 588 runs in 11 innings, joint-most in a single season of PSL. Notably, Babar was expected to be a part of Pakistan's Asian Games 2026 squad, but it is shocking to see the 31-year-old missing out.
3. Shaheen Afridi
Former Pakistan T20I captain, Shaheen Afridi, is also not part of the 15-member squad. With Shaheen, it is justifiable because the left-arm seamer has a knack of picking up injuries and the PCB need to look after his workload management because the 2027 ODI World Cup is not far away.
Shaheen Afridi recently played against Australia, picking up 9 wickets in 5 innings across formats.
4. Salman Ali Agha
The biggest shocking thing was to see Salman Ali Agha’s ouster from the team. It was expected that Agha would lead the side, but Sahibzada Farhan has been named as the captain. Salman Agha, too, was part of Pakistan’s squad for Australia recently, where he featured in both ODIs and T20Is.
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5. Haris Rauf
Not just Shaheen Afridi, but Haris Rauf will also miss the Asian Games 2026. However, unlike above mentioned stars, Rauf’s exclusion is more of a statement that his T20I days are done, rather than a rest or workload management.
The 32-year-old last played a T20I game during Asia Cup 2025, where he had a flop show in the final against India. Since then, the PCB has only considered Rauf for ODIs, marking a significant shift in their T20I set-up.
6. Mohammad Nawaz
Mohammad Nawaz, too, is not a part of Pakistan’s Asian Games 2026 squad. Nawaz didn’t have a great PSL, and scored just 54 runs in 6 innings. Also, with the ball, he picked up just 6 wickets in 9 innings, with an economy of 11.65.
7. Usman Tariq
Pakistan’s star spinner, Usman Tariq, has not been named in Pakistan’s Asian Games 2026 squad. The mystery spinner was one of the most-talked-about players during the T20 World Cup 2026. However, his exclusion is either because of workload management or featuring in foreign T20 leagues, which will run around the same time.
8. Naseem Shah
In the latest events, there are reports that the PCB are looking beyond Naseem Shah as they are not happy with his work ethics. Hence, the right-arm seamer has not been named in Pakistan’s Asian Games 2026 squad.
9. Fakhar Zaman
Fahar Zaman also had a great PSL 2026, where the southpaw scored 401 runs in 8 innings, averaging 57.29. Hence, his exclusion from the team has come as a shock.
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