Pakistan announced their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday, January 25, despite their participation in the tournament being uncertain. The Men in Green named Babar Azam in the squad, while the likes of Haris Rauf and Mohammad Rizwan were not picked for the tournament that kicks off on February 7 and will be played in India and Sri Lanka.
With less than two weeks to go for the World Cup, Pakistan have flagged their uncertainty on playing the tournament after Bangladesh were removed from the global showpiece. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi called the removal by the ICC as ‘injustice’ to Bangladesh, who refused to travel to India on security grounds. Naqvi stated that the final call on their World Cup participation will be taken after talks with the Pakistan government.
Meanwhile, Pakistan have named their squad for the tournament with Salman Ali Agha set to lead for the first time in a global tournament. Babar has been picked as he is set to play his fourth T20 World Cup despite his low returns in the Big Bash League, having scored just 202 runs in 11 innings.
Why were Rauf and Rizwan not picked in the T20 World Cup squad?
However, the likes of Rauf and Rizwan have not been picked in the squad. Pakistan white-ball coach Mike Hesson, who was present at the press conference while naming the squad, revealed the reasoning behind not picking the likes of Rauf and Rizwan.
Speaking on Rauf during the press conference, he revealed that the team had to pick only three pacers with the conditions in Sri Lanka, and hence Rauf missed out. “When we decided to only take three seamers in Sri Lanka, there were obviously going to be some key seamers,” Hesson said.
“Wasim Jr, Ahmed Daniyal and Haris Rauf were certainly considered, but unfortunately, there’s no spot. The three that are going — Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Salman Mirza — can all bowl in all three phases of the game, which is really important when you’re potentially going to play two in Sri Lanka,” he added.
Hesson and Chief Selector Aaqib Javed spoke on the exclusion of Rizwan, highlighting that Usman Khan has been in good form, which stems as a key reason for the veteran wicketkeeper’s absence. “When it comes to Usman Khan’s performance, we consider the availability we have and the type of cricket we want to play. You build a composition of 7–8 batsmen, and you need to see what type of players come together to form a batting unit that can perform in any total or under any conditions,” Javed stated in the press conference.
Meanwhile, Hesson stated that the team wants a wicketkeeper in the middle order and Rizwan’s role is not that. “Usman Khan has been exceptional since he came back. He remained not out in three chases where we were losing wickets, and he has shown experience. His wicketkeeping is probably going better than expected. In Sri Lanka, it was high quality,” Hesson said.
“The role we have for our keeper is someone through the middle, batting at five or six. You are not comparing the same, as Rizwan is a top-order batter. There’s no spot in that role for a wicketkeeper,” Hesson added.
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