Musical chairs persist in Pakistan's T20I setup as Sahibzada Farhan succeeds Salman Ali Agha

The musical chairs surrounding Pakistan's T20I captaincy continue, with Salman Ali Agha removed as captain of the shortest-format side and also dropped from the squad for the upcoming three-match home series against Sri Lanka.

In his place, Sahibzada Farhan, who recently led Pakistan to a silver-medal finish at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, has been appointed captain of the T20I side for the series.

Pakistan have shuffled through several T20I captains since 2024. Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was appointed captain for just five matches before the role was handed to Mohammad Rizwan later that year. Shaheen endured a difficult stint, winning only one of his five games during Pakistan's tour of New Zealand in 2024. Rizwan's tenure also proved forgettable, with Pakistan losing all four T20Is under his leadership.

The lack of established leadership options in the dressing room prompted the PCB to appoint Salman Ali Agha as captain following Pakistan's disappointing ICC Champions Trophy campaign. Agha was given an extended run in the role and went on to compile an impressive win percentage of 62. However, it appears his struggles with the bat ultimately persuaded the selectors and the PCB to look elsewhere. Pakistan won 31 and lost 18 of the 50 T20Is Agha captained.

The selectors have decided to take the punt on Farhan, who was the leading run-scorer at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in February-March. He aggregated 383 runs at a strike rate of 160, shattering Virat Kohli's record for the most runs in a single edition of the tournament.

Pakistan T20I squad against Sri Lanka

Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Maaz Sadaqat, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim

Pakistan ODI squad for tri-series against Sri Lanka and England

Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wk), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim

More to follow.................