The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has just made public their 16-man squad for the upcoming T20I series against Australia. The three match series kicks off on January 29, 2026 at a pretty important venue – the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore. Notably though, one of Pakistan’s regular players, but not one of their superstars, Mohammad Rizwan has been left out of the squad. Babar Azam on the other hand has made a comeback to the team.
The T20 series is set to be a real test for both the teams in preparation for the T20 World Cup in 2026. Both sides will be keen to get a feel of things in Pakistan as the conditions here are quite similar to those they will encounter in the World Cup. So both teams should feel pretty geared up and ready to go by the time the tournament comes around.
Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi are back in the squad after being left out of the last series against Sri Lanka. And there’s also some good news for Shadab Khan, who is still working his way back into the side, along with a few other potential spin options.
Mohammad Rizwan’s Surprise Omission From the Squad
The relationship between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan has been a bit up and down over the years. But Rizwan’s strike-rate in T20s has been a persistent problem throughout his career. He averages a pretty decent 125.37 in his T20 career so far.
More recently though, he just hasn’t been able to make an impact in the Big Bash League (BBL). And what really stood out was the fact that he was the very first overseas player to get bowled out in the league. On a strike rate of just over 100 in the BBL you can’t really expect much more from a guy like Rizwan.
He managed a total of just 187 runs across 10 innings in the BBL this season, with an average of just 18.7. To be honest it was a pretty mediocre performance. He just couldn’t get going and none of his innings really took off, even though a few of them did get off to a good start. I suppose it’s no great surprise that Mohammad Rizwan has been left out of the squad.
Pakistan Squad For T20I Series Against Australia
Salman Ali Agha (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq.