LAHORE: Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi have been named in Pakistan’s 16-player squad for next week’s three-match T20I series against Australia, bolstering their chances of retaining their spots for next month’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

Babar and Shaheen were unavailable for the T20I series against Sri Lanka earlier this month due to their franchise commitments in Australia. While Shaheen’s Big Bash League (BBL) stint was cut short by a knee injury, Babar was released by his side a few days ago to join the Pakistan national team camp.

The only change from the 15-player squad that traveled to Sri Lanka is the omission of Abdul Samad, who did not feature in any of the three matches in Hambantota.

The three T20Is will be played in Lahore on 29 January, 31 January, and 1 February, after which both sides will depart for Colombo.

PAKISTAN T20I Squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq