Pakistan and Afghanistan look to fine-tune ahead of Asia Cup

A new-look Pakistan will look to fine tune for the upcoming Asia Cup when they face favourites  Afghanistan and the UAE in the tri-series, which gets under way on Aug.29 in Sharjah.

Pakistan will be led by Salman Agha, who has played just 20 T20Is. He was appointed as the T20 captain after just playing four games when Mohammad Rizwan was rested against Zimbabwe in December 2024. Pakistan swept the series against the under dogs and Agha assumed the role as a full-time skipper in the format.

Agha rode a wave of success as Pakistan blanked Bangladesh 3-0 in the home series in June 2025. The joy was short-lived as they lost to the same Bangladesh in their den a month later.

The Asia Cup will be the real test for both Agha and Jesson. Veteran players Rizwan and Babar Azam failed to find their places in the set-up of Hesson and Agha. The coach has already justified the axing of players like Babar and Rizwan.

“We’ve put together what we believe is a highly competitive squad following the recent T20I series. Excited to see some fresh faces stepping up alongside our experienced senior players. A great blend of energy & experience for the Tri-Nation series & Asia Cup,” wrote Hesson on his X account after the selection of the team.

The squad features Salman, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, and Faheem Ashraf. Younger stars like Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Haris will also look to exploit the chance and leave their mark in the upcoming competitions.

Haris was the stand out player in the Bangladesh series in Pakistan. He smashed a blazing century in the third match. Pakistan will hope for a repeat performance from him.

Riding on powerful hitting by young players like Agha himself, Mohammad Haris and Shadab Khan, Pakistan breached the 200-run mark twice in three-match series. Pace battery looks good with the presence of pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, who will be supported by Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf. The spin department is likely to be handled by the captain himself along with Abrar Ahmed.

"We are trying to build a team and this tri-series and then the Asia Cup will be a good opportunity to achieve that. We know both these events will be challenging but we are ready," said Agha.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's fairytale rise in international cricket is no secret anymore. From being the giant-killers, they themselves have become a force to reckon with.

Star spinner Rashid Khan will lead them and that is what makes them more dangerous customers. Afghanistan are also one of the top three contenders for the Asia Cup and are likely to give tough competition to Pakistan in the tri-series.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran can tear apart any bowling attack and give a blistering start to the team. Azmatullah Omarzai and Karim Jannat provide stability to the middle order.

Spin trio of Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-ur-Rehman make one of the most dangerous spin attacks of the world. To add more teeth to their spin attack, they included left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad, who had some impressive performances in the recent past, and  AM Ghazanfar.

Rashid ruled out any specific target for the team for both the tournaments.

"We do not have specific targets because we do not want to put extra pressure on our players," Rashid said.

"Our target is to play the brand of cricket we have played over the years. For us the main target is to give in 200 percent effort on the pitch,” said Rashid.

UAE are coming into the tourney as underdogs yet they are confident of staging some big upsets.  Under the new coach Lalchand Rajput, UAE have put up some brilliant performances as they defeated Bangladesh in the bilateral series earlier this year.

UAE, who will be skippered by Muhammad Waseem, have made some changes to the squad as they brought in uncapped left-handed batsman Harshit Kaushik.

Leg-spinner Mohammad Farooq, Junaid Siddique and Mohammad Jawadullah have come into the fold. UAE coach Rajput exuded confidence in his team and warned of serious challenge for the big boys.