According to Pakistan media reports, opener Sahibzada Farhan is set to take over new T20I skipper by replacing Salman Ali Agha for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. The 30-year-old opener was captain of a second-string Pakistan side which lost to Shreyas Iyer’s Team India in the Asian Games 2026 gold medal match by 19 runs.
Farhan only managed scores of 1 and 10 in the Asian Games 2026 men’s cricket event against Sri Lanka and India. The world No. 3 T20I batter is known for his controversial ‘gun celebration’ in the ill-tempered matches against Team India in the Asia Cup 2025 in UAE last year. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had let him off with a fine.
Apart from Farhan, reports also suggested that experienced all-rounder Shadab Khan might also have been in race to become Pakistan’s next T20I captain. Salman Ali Agha led Pakistan in 36 T20I matches and won 22 of those matches and lost 14 for a win-percentage of 61.11. Pakistan had failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal earlier this year under the captaincy of Salman Ali Agha.
Farhan, meanwhile, made his T20I debut in 2018 but started showing consistency under new coach Mike Hesson in 2025. He has had a brilliant 2026, scoring 459 runs in 12 innings at an average of 41.73 and a strike rate of 151.49.
Under Salman Ali Aghar, Pakistan lost to India thrice in the Asia Cup 2025 before suffering an early exit at the T20 World Cup 2026, including a loss to India in Colombo. Agha also stepped in as captain in the first Test, standing in for injured Babar Azam, but was dropped in the second Test and sent home after Pakistan suffered a 0-2 deficit in the three-Test rubber.
Farhan has scored 1316 runs in 48 T20I matches for Pakistan at an average of 29.24 with a strike-rate of 135.27 with 2 hundreds and 10 fifties. Overall in T20 cricket, Farhan has scored 5537 runs in 183 matches at an average of 33.76 with a best of 162 not out at a strike-rate of 139.22 with 9 hundreds and 35 fifties.