Salman Agha will lead a side sans Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf for Pakistan's three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Mirpur, Dhaka, to be played between July 20 and 24. The squad has been trimmed by one from the time Pakistan played their last T20I series - also against Bangladesh - but at home in May-June, when Pakistan won 3-0. Shadab has recently undergone surgery on his shoulder and is currently in rehab.

It was also announced earlier in the day that Rauf has a hamstring problem, which has ruled him out of San Francisco Unicorns' MLC 2025 playoff matches. Apart from them, Irfan Khan, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim and Naseem Shah have been left out.The replacements don't bring a lot of experience with them.

Ahmed Daniyal, the medium pacer, and Salman Mirza, the left-arm quick, are uncapped in international cricket, while left-arm wristspinner Sufiyan Muqeem is just ten T20Is old. Top-order batter Hasan Nawaz made his international debut earlier this year and has played just eight T20Is. Abbas Afridi, the medium pacer, is relatively more experienced, having played 21 T20Is since making his debut early last year. Some of them were among the better performers at the PSL earlier this year.

Abbas Afridi was the fourth-highest wicket-taker overall, with 17 wickets from 11 innings for Karachi Kings. Salman Mirza picked up nine wickets from just four games for Lahore Qalandars. Nawaz, meanwhile, was the third-highest run-scorer overall with 399 runs in ten innings for Quetta Gladiators, going at a strike rate of 162.19. This is the second T20I series Pakistan will be playing under new white-ball coach Mike Hesson, with the next T20 World Cup scheduled for early 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. 

The squad for the white-ball series against West Indies, to be played in Lauderhill (T20Is) and Tarouba (ODIs) in early August, "will be announced in due course," the PCB said in a statement. Pakistan squad for T20I series against BangladeshSalman Agha (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)