No Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi in Pakistan's latest T20I squad for Sri Lanka series

Pakistan will travel to Sri Lanka for a three-match T20I series before the T20 World Cup 2026.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has recently revealed Pakistan’s latest T20I squad for the three matches against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. The series that begins on January 7, won’t see Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi, as the duo aren’t included in the team. Nor is Haris Rauf. All three players are playing in the Big Bash League (BBL) currently and it is likely that they aren’t selected due to their overseas commitment. However, the squad sees the return of Shadab Khan, who incidentally, also features in BBL currently.

Shadab Khan returns; no Babar Azam

Shadab Khan, the 27-year-old Pakistani all-rounder, had shoulder surgery earlier this year. After a successful rehab at the National Cricket Academy, he’s now playing in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) for Sydney Thunders. Meanwhile, Babar hasn’t done well at all for the Sydney Sixers. In 4 matches, he has mustered just 71 runs at a strike rate of 110.1.

The kind of performance that Babar gave in 2025 in T20Is, you can expect Pakistan to drop him again. He wasn’t part of the Asia Cup squad as well. However, he returned and made 206 runs at an average of 34.33 and a poor SR of 114.44. Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi is representing 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 Ahmad, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Usman Tariq