ISLAMABAD: Pakistan cricket team’s white-ball Head Coach Mike Hesson has backed what he described as an “excellent balanced squad” for the upcoming tri-nation series and Asia Cup in the UAE, hoping that a blend of fresh faces and experienced cricketers in the squad will fare well in the upcoming fixtures.
Pakistan announced a 17-member squad for an upcoming T20I tri-series and the Asia Cup, both scheduled to be held in the UAE, on Sunday. The tri-nation series is scheduled to take place from Aug. 29 to Sept. 7 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and will feature Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UAE. The eight-team ACC Asia Cup T20I tournament will be staged in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from Sept. 9-28. Pakistan are placed in Group ‘A’ alongside India, Oman and UAE.
Pakistan’s 17-member squad is led by young skipper Salman Ali Agha and features pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Salman Mirza, Mohammad Waseem Junior, Hasan Ali and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf. The squad features mystery spinners Abrar Ahmed and Sufyan Moqim, explosive openers Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan. Former skipper Babar Azam and ODI captain Mohammad Rizwan including right-arm pacer Naseem Shah have been excluded from the squad.
“We’ve put together what we believe is a highly competitive squad following the recent T20I series,” Hesson wrote on social media platform X on Sunday. “Excited to see some fresh faces stepping up alongside our experienced senior players.”
Hesson pointed out that the Green Shirts are backed by five front line seamers who would adapt according to conditions in the UAE, along with two attacking mystery spinners in the form of Moqim and Ahmed.
“With depth in batting, much improved fielding side along with the bowlers mentioned above we overall have an excellent balanced squad,” he concluded.
Speaking to reporters at the news conference while announcing the squad on Sunday, Hesson admitted Azam had been asked to improve in some departments of the game.
“Babar played nicely in the first [West Indies] ODI but missed out on the next two,” he said. “There’s no doubt Babar’s been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate. Those are things he’s working really hard on.”
However, he said other players who have been selected have done “exceptionally well.”
“Sahibzada Farhan has played six games and won three Player of the Match awards,” he said. “A player like Babar has an opportunity to play in the BBL [Big Bash League] and show he’s improving in those areas in T20s. He’s too good a player not to consider.”
Azam last played a T20I for Pakistan in December 2024. In the Pakistan Super League 2025 T20 format, he scored 288 runs in ten innings for Peshawar Zalmi. It included knocks of 56, 53 and 94 but his overall strike rate was 128.57. He was part of the recent ODI series against West Indies where he had scores of 47, 0 and 9.
