Sahibzada Farhan to lead Pakistan at Asian Games 2026 cricket event

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board has unveiled a 15-player squad for the Asian Games 2026 cricket competition, with opening batter Sahibzada Farhan appointed captain and Abdul Samad named his deputy.

The cricket tournament at the Asian Games is due to take place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4. According to the PCB announcement, the cricket action will start on September 24, while the medal matches are scheduled for October 3. A total of 10 teams will compete for the gold medal.

Farhan, 30, goes into the tournament with experience from 46 T20 Internationals for Pakistan. In those appearances, he has scored 1,305 runs, including two centuries and 10 half-centuries.

Squad and returning players

The squad also includes opener Saim Ayub, wicketkeeper Usman Khan, mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed and Salman Mirza. Haider Ali and Ahmed Daniyal have returned to the side, while Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat and Saad Masood are yet to make their T20I debut for Pakistan.

Fourteen of the 15 selected players are also part of the National Cricket Academy White-Ball Camp, which is scheduled to begin in Lahore on Monday, June 15.

The full squad comprises 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, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper).

Support staff

The PCB also named the support staff for the campaign. Mike Hesson will serve as head coach, with Ashley Noffke as bowling coach and Shane McDermott as fielding coach. Muhammad Tahir has been listed as physiotherapist, Imran Ullah as trainer, and Usman Hashmi as analyst-cum-team operations coordinator.