List of Pakistan squad changes [Source: AFP]The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced Pakistan’s 15-player squad for their upcoming three-match home T20I series against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi this month. The series will mark Pakistan’s first bilateral assignment since the conclusion of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earlier this year.Since then, the Pakistan team has featured in another multi-nation event, in the form of the 2026 Asian Games in Japan. However, the squad picked for the tournament looked markedly different, with several fresh and relatively unfamiliar faces given an opportunity on the international stage.It now appears that the PCB is continuing in the same direction, with this latest squad reshuffle serving as another step in its T20I reboot and giving more opportunities to the next generation of Pakistani cricketers.Senior stars Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi are among seven players from Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad who have been left out of the Sri Lanka series, with seven others coming into the mix after missing the global tournament. Notably, five of those seven incoming players also recently toured Japan for the 2026 Asian Games as part of the Pakistan national squad. Here, we analyze key changes between the two squads and identify which player is potentially filling the roles vacated by those left out of the squad.1. Babar Azam out, Hasan Nawaz inFormer Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been ruled out of the national squad, and it increasingly appears that the senior batter has already played his final T20I match for his country. Babar, who was also used sporadically as a middle-order batter in the 2026 T20 World Cup this year, looks to be replaced by his T20I heir apparent, Hasan Nawaz. The 24-year-old recently bludgeoned 96 off 51 balls against India in the Asian Games 2026 final, and has so far aggregated 580 runs in 26 T20I innings at a blistering strike rate of 157.18. 2. Shaheen Afridi out, Razaullah inRazaullah has earned his maiden call-up to Pakistan’s T20I squad. The speedster recently impressed one-and-all with his Test debut in England last month, picking up four wickets with the ball and scoring a vital 81 as a tailender. Also Read- Pakistan's Poor Performance Leads PCB To 25 Cr Loss In Broadcast Rights Deal- ReportIt appears that the PCB is looking to invest in the 21-year-old for the long term, potentially grooming him as a successor to the struggling senior paceman Shaheen Afridi.3. Faheem Ashraf out, Muhammad Imran Randhawa inFast bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf has been surely replaced by fellow fast bowling all-rounder Muhammad Imran Randhawa for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. Imran, however, has played just one Test for Pakistan so far in his career and he continues to remain uncapped in both of the two white-ball formats. In domestic T20 cricket, the 29-year-old holds an astonishing strike rate of nearly 135 as a middle and lower-order batter, and has scalped 46 wickets so far in 62 innings.4. Mohammad Nawaz out, Arafat Minhas inOnce a regular member of Pakistan’s T20I squad, 98-match veteran Mohammad Nawaz appears to be on the verge of being completely phased out by the PCB in favour of a younger spin-bowling all-round option.The selection committee seems to have already zeroed in on Arafat Minhas, who recently clinched a silver medal for Pakistan at the 2026 Asian Games. The 21-year-old has already played 41 T20 matches, including six internationals for Pakistan, picking up eight wickets while also holding considerable potential with the bat.5. Salman Ali Agha out, Abdul Samad in While Salman Ali Agha has been replaced by Sahibzada Farhan on the captaincy front, the senior all-rounder has seemingly been replaced by explosive middle-order batter Abdul Samad in the rebooted Pakistan T20I squad.Samad, who made his T20I debut last year in New Zealand, also toured Japan for the 2026 Asian Games and scored the winning runs for his side in the all-important semifinal. The 28-year-old holds a career T20 strike rate of over 150 and a T20I strike rate of 128.04.The only thing that goes against Abdul Samad is that he does not bowl, unlike the Pakistan all-format veteran whom he is likely to replace.6. Usman Tariq out, Sufyan Moqim inUsman Tariq has the height, the mystery, and a bowling action controversial enough to bewilder all. The cricketer also had the stats in his favour. However, the 28-year-old came up well short in Pakistan’s crunch T20 World Cup 2026 games against India and Sri Lanka this year.Sufyan Muqeem, on the other hand, decimated Bangladesh at the recently concluded Asian Games 2026 and has so far scalped 30 wickets in his 21-match T20I career. Muqeem’s clean bowling action will also keep him clear of any unwanted controversies, while his impressive T20I average of 15.23 only strengthens his case for a place in the national squad.7. Usman Khan out, Maaz Sadaqat inAmong the seven T20 World Cup 2026 players who have been dropped for the series against Sri Lanka, wicketkeeper-batter Usman Khan is the only cricketer who travelled to Japan for the 2026 Asian Games.However, much like his underwhelming campaign at the 2026 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, the 31-year-old also turned out to be a dud at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.Having scored just 491 runs in his 40-match T20I career for Pakistan at an average of 18.18, the middle-order batter will likely be replaced by young, explosive batting all-rounder Maaz Sadaqat.The 21-year-old delivered two cracking cameos at the 2026 Asian Games and boasts a career T20 strike rate of 153.87 as a middle-order batter. While Sadaqat is not known for keeping wickets, the youngster can chip in with a useful over or two, with his 57 all-format wickets serving as evidence of his bowling ability.Also Read- Tilak Varma Is Finding His Perfect T20I Role
