Pakistan's Two-Track White-Ball Plan: Farhan for T20Is, Shaheen for ODIs, Babar Only in ODIs

The first thing that caught my eye in the Pakistan Cricket Board's squad announcement was not a name that was there, but a name that was not. Babar Azam is missing from the T20I squad. So is Shaheen Shah Afridi. So is Mohammad Rizwan. For nearly a decade these three have been the face of Pakistan's white-ball cricket, and none of them finds a place in the T20I side for this series. The three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, beginning at Rawalpindi on 9, 11 and 13 October, will be led by Sahibzada Farhan — an opening batter. The surprises do not stop there: Mohammad Imran Randhawa earns a maiden T20I call-up, Razaullah enters a white-ball squad for the first time, and Salman Ali Agha, after losing the T20I captaincy, is dropped from that format altogether. One announcement, but two separate stories inside it. Pakistan's announcement actually speaks of two distinct competitions. The first is a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, all of it at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The second is a seven-match ODI tri-series featuring Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka. The first three matches of that tournament are at Rawalpindi, with the remaining league fixtures and the final at Lahore. So the T20I series sits at a single venue, while the ODI tournament splits across two — and there is a real difference hidden in the move from Rawalpindi's pace-and-bounce surface to Lahore's comparatively spin-friendlier pitch. One thing needs stating up front: this is not a post-match analysis. It is a pre-match squad announcement. No ball has been bowled, so there is no powerplay, middle-over or death-over data. T20I and ODI are entirely different tactical logics. In ODI, two new balls, spin control through the middle overs and acceleration in the final ten overs cannot be mapped onto the T20I split of powerplay, middle and death. The two formats' decisions must not be conflated. Years of watching the game taught me this plainly: change the format, and the logic changes with it. A significant gap also needs acknowledging. The source does not specify the year of the series, and the ODI tri-series dates are omitted entirely — only the T20I dates are given. That makes accurate timeline or workload modelling impossible. The real message of this announcement is simple — Pakistan is splitting its white-ball identity by format. One team for T20Is, another for ODIs, and two different captains. The decision to hand Sahibzada Farhan the T20I captaincy is the clearest proof of that split. Elevating an opening batter signals Pakistan wants a T20I reset, not continuity. But the appointment has a weak spot. Farhan's leadership case rests on the Asian Games, where the side was not full-strength and the setting was a multi-sport event. Moving from that to captaining a full-strength bilateral series is a thin foundation. With Shaheen Shah Afridi the picture inverts. He is retained as ODI captain but left out of the T20I squad entirely. As a left-arm new-ball swing bowler, his value is front-loaded in the powerplay; and loading a fast bowler with the extra mental burden of captaincy is nothing new for Pakistan, but it is no small risk either. Babar Azam's presence in the ODI squad alone is a major structural signal. This is an attempt to build a T20I side without its long-time batting figurehead. In ODI, his anchor profile — high average, moderate strike rate — suits the format. In the modern T20I template, that very profile has drawn criticism, and that is consistent with his omission here. Now the new faces. Razaullah's maiden white-ball call-up is justified in the source by his batting in the third Test against England. But a single Test innings is not enough sample to project white-ball value. That is precisely the cross-format projection one must treat with caution. Mohammad Imran Randhawa's maiden T20I call-up, and Salman Ali Agha's removal from the T20I captaincy and then from the format, both signal deliberate change. A player dropped from an entire format after losing the captaincy is not routine rotation; it is an imposed leadership change. And Salman's retention in the ODI squad shows the decision is format-specific, strengthening the two-identity theme. The wicketkeeping slot is unsettled too. The ODI squad carries two keepers — Ghori and Saad Baig — while the T20I side carries one, Nafay. Usman Khan, once seen as a prospect, and the spinner Usman Tariq are both omitted. The opposition matters as well. England are ahead of Pakistan in batting depth and resources; Sri Lanka are a mid-tier side but dangerous in spin-friendly conditions. Venue character is another factor — Rawalpindi's pace and bounce suit Pakistan's fast-bowling core, while Lahore's spin-friendlier pitch may suit Sri Lanka's strength. And a seven-match tri-series means knockout-adjacent pressure in the final — a very different mental test from a bilateral T20I. Tactics are not a puzzle to solve; they are a conversation to join. This is where an uncomfortable question surfaces. Is Pakistan's reset genuinely structural, or merely a test wrapped in the comfort of home conditions? Pakistan's home record is always far better than its away record. Choosing Rawalpindi and Lahore — the country's two biggest cricket markets — clearly serves gate revenue and broadcast reach. So if new players perform well, whether that proves real ability or just familiar conditions needs separating out. Another risk is pace-bowling workload. Shaheen, Naseem and Haris Rauf are all in the ODI squad, and all three are injury-prone. The T20I series ends and the ODI tri-series begins almost immediately, leaving little rest. The omission of four Asian Games pacers — Ali Raza, Wasim Jr, Akif Javed and Ahmed Daniyal — may therefore be a workload-protection call as much as a form one. What fans will discuss most is not the new faces but the absence of Babar and Shaheen from the T20I squad. Pakistan's supporters react quickly to senior players being dropped. So if the new plan does not deliver, the leadership change and the senior omissions will combine to create public pressure. For now, one thing is clear: Pakistan is entering the field with two teams, two captains and two separate futures. The T20I series will end at Rawalpindi, but the real test is the Lahore final. Whether the new leadership can turn home advantage into genuine ability will be answered once the ball is bowled — not by reading the list.