Sahibzada Farhan to lead Pakistan in Asian Games 2026

Sahibzada Farhan has been named Pakistan captain for the 2026 Asian Games set to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan in September-October this year. The 15-member squad contains four players yet to play T20Is for Pakistan: Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat and Saad Masood. Abdul Samad has been named Farhan's deputy.

Sahibzada Farhan (c), Abdul Samad (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan (wk)

Farhan, who has played 46 T20Is for Pakistan so far, has not yet led them in either white-ball format. Samad, meanwhile, has been capped five times in T20Is, but hasn't represented them in the format since March last year. More recently, he was part of the ODI series against Australia.

Usman Khan has been picked as the primary keeper in a squad vastly different from the one they fielded at the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Their usual first-choice names, including regular captain Salman Ali Agha, as well as white-ball stars Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Shadab Khan among others, have not been picked.

The new-look side has 14 out of 15 players who are part of the NCA white-ball camp, set to start in Lahore from June 15. The men's cricket event will begin on September 24, while the medal matches will be played on October 3.

Cricket has been part of the Asian Games thrice (2010, 2014, 2022). Pakistan finished fourth in the 2022 edition (held in 2023), winning one game and losing two.