‘This is Pakistan team; it doesn’t belong to anyone’: Farhan on absence of Babar, Rizwan

Sahibzada Farhan takes charge of Pakistan’s T20I side for the first time on Friday when the hosts face Sri Lanka in the opening match of a three-game series at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, with the new captain promising a more aggressive approach.

Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi are not part of the 15-member squad for the series, while former captain Salman Ali Agha has also made way for Farhan, who recently led Pakistan to a silver medal at the Asian Games.

Farhan arrives in the role after an impressive run in T20 cricket. He was the leading run-scorer at the 2026 T20 World Cup, where he made 383 runs, and has accumulated 1,305 runs in 46 T20Is at an average of around 30 and a strike rate close to 137. He has also scored two centuries.

The new captain, however, played down the significance of succeeding Salman and being handed the leadership of a side traditionally built around established stars.

“There is pressure… you are leading from the front,” Farhan said at a presser. “But it is not that we will let that pressure sit on our heads.”

He said his experience of leading in domestic cricket and at the Asian Games had given him confidence ahead of the new assignment.

Farhan described the squad as a blend of young players and experienced ones with the likes of Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan providing seniority alongside Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.

The captain also made it clear that the absence of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan did not mean the door was closed on the two senior batters. “This is the Pakistan team; it doesn’t belong to anyone,” Farhan said. “Doors are open for everyone.”