Pakistan name squad for upcoming Asia Cup

Salman Ali Agha will lead Pakistan for the upcoming UAE tri-series and the subsequent Asia Cup also to be played in the UAE.

Among the prominent players to feature in Pakistan's 17-member squad apart from Salman are Fakhar Zaman (who has recovered from a hamstring issue he picked in the Caribbean), Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, and Faheem Ashraf. Younger stars like Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Haris will also look to leave their mark in the upcoming competitions.

This meant that seniors like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan didn't find a place in the Asia Cup lineup. Both players last featured in the format in South Africa in December 2024.

Pakistan will first feature in a tri-series with the UAE and Afghanistan between 29 August to 7 September.

Then the side will play in the eight-team Asia Cup all set to be staged between September 9-28, where Pakistan are placed in Group A along with Oman, India and the UAE.

Pakistan squad:

Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufyan Moqim.

So far, Pakistan have featured in the continental tournament on 15 occasions. They've won it twice, under Moin Khan's captaincy in 2000 and in Mishabh-ul-Haq's leadership in 2012.

Tri-series schedule

(All matches to be played in Sharjah)

29 August – Afghanistan v Pakistan

30 August – UAE v Pakistan

1 September – UAE v Afghanistan

2 September – Pakistan v Afghanistan

4 September – Pakistan v UAE

5 September – Afghanistan v UAE

7 September – Final

Asia Cup schedule

Pakistan's group fixtures in the Asia Cup:

12 September – Oman v Pakistan, Dubai
14 September – India v Pakistan, Dubai
17 September – UAE v Pakistan, Dubai

Super Fours

20-26 September in Abu Dhabi and Dubai

Final

28 September in Dubai