Follow UsPakistan cricket is in dire straits at the moment, after their lacklustre 2-1 series loss against the West Indies, on August 12 (Wednesday). Mike Hesson, Pakistan’s new head coach, has a lot of brave calls to make ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, where there’s a strong chance that big names such as Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan might not feature.
With the T20 World Cup 2026 scheduled for February in India and Sri Lanka, the Asia Cup 2025 will act as a true litmus test for the Asian side, who got knocked out of the last T20 World Cup in the group stage.
While Pakistan won their last T20I series against West Indies, with a margin of 2-1, there are a lot of chinks in their armour that need to be fixed. Newly appointed skipper Salman Ali Agha will lead the series, but there’s a question mark over the others, as the build-up to the big tournament grows in intensity.
Openers: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Fakhar Zaman
Middle-order & finishers: Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Khushdil Shah
All-rounder: Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Ali Agha, Hussain Talat
Pacers: Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah
Spinners: Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed
Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (c), Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem/Abrar Ahmed