The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday unveiled a 15-member squad for the men’s cricket event at the Asian Games 2026, with experienced batter Sahibzada Farhan appointed captain of the side.
The tournament will be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with the men’s T20 competition scheduled to run from September 24 to October 3.
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The medal matches are set to take place on the final day of the event.
Farhan, one of Pakistan’s most experienced T20 cricketers in the squad, has featured in 46 T20 Internationals and scored 1,305 runs, including two centuries and 10 half-centuries.
Middle-order batter Abdul Samad has been named vice-captain after representing Pakistan in five T20Is.
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The squad combines established domestic performers with several emerging players.
Fast bowlers Akif Javed and Ali Raza, batter Maaz Sadaqat and all-rounder Saad Masood are yet to make their T20I debuts for Pakistan and will be hoping to impress during the multi-sport event.
A notable feature of the squad is that 14 of the selected players are also part of the National Cricket Academy’s White-Ball Camp, which begins in Lahore on June 15.
The Asian Games men’s cricket competition will feature 10 teams.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and hosts Japan have secured automatic qualification, while Nepal, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Oman earned their spots through the qualifying pathway.
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Pakistan squad for Asian Games 2026
Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufiyan Muqeem and Usman Khan (wicket-keeper)
Support staff
The team’s support staff includes head coach Mike Hesson, bowling coach Ashley Noffke, fielding coach Shane McDermott, physiotherapist Muhammad Tahir, trainer Imran Ullah and analyst-cum-team operations coordinator Usman Hashmi.
