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Pakistan's New Captain Farhan Prepares for Asian Games Challenge

Pakistan will head to the Asian Games with a fresh face at the helm and a squad that sends a clear, if cryptic, message about the future. Sahibzada Farhan has been handed the captaincy, with Abdul Samad as his deputy, in a group conspicuously missing some of the country’s biggest modern-day stars.

Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah are all absent. No explanations, no injury bulletins, no official word on rotation. For now, it sits in that uneasy space between “rested” and “overlooked”, and it will stay there until the management breaks its silence.

What is clear: this is Farhan’s team.

Camp in Karachi, Flight to Japan

The squad assembled in Karachi on Sunday, with a short, sharp training camp scheduled from Monday, September 21, to Thursday, September 14. The dates raise eyebrows on paper, but the plan is simple enough: get the group together, drill them hard, and have them on a Thursday night flight to Japan.

Five players will cut it fine. Usman Khan, Saim Ayub, Maaz Sadaqat, Hasan Nawaz and Sufyan Moqim are all tied up with franchise duties, their commitments running through to the Caribbean Premier League final. Only once that trophy is lifted in the Caribbean will they jet across to join Pakistan’s Asian Games push.

For the rest, Karachi is where roles are defined and combinations tested. Farhan, an experienced domestic campaigner, suddenly finds himself fast-tracked into a leadership role on an international multi-sport stage. Around him, a squad built on potential rather than reputation.

A Different Kind of India–Pakistan Equation

The men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games starts on Monday, September 24, and the bracket has already done some heavy lifting for the scriptwriters.

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh all go straight into the quarter-finals. No early banana skins, no group-stage ambushes. Straight to knockout cricket, where one bad day can erase months of planning.

There is one crucial twist. India and Pakistan cannot meet in the semi-finals. The draw keeps them apart until the medals are on the line. They can face each other only in a bronze match or a gold-medal showdown. Nowhere in between.

Both sides will play their quarter-finals on Monday, September 28, each trying to navigate their own path toward that tantalising possibility of a medal clash that would light up the tournament.

Full-Strength India, Experimental Pakistan

While Pakistan experiment, India have gone the other way. The BCCI has named a full-strength squad for the Games, with Shreyas Iyer captaining a side stacked with established names.

Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Tilak Varma are all in the mix, and the group will be coached by VVS Laxman. Gautam Gambhir, meanwhile, will front the upcoming ODI series against the West Indies, allowing India to operate on two fronts with two heavyweight backroom teams.

It sets up a striking contrast. India lean into continuity and star power. Pakistan lean into opportunity and a new leadership group.

Pakistan’s 15 for the Asian Games

  • Sahibzada Farhan (captain)
  • Abdul Samad (vice-captain)
  • Abrar Ahmed
  • Ahmed Daniyal
  • Akif Javed
  • Ali Raza
  • Arafat Minhas
  • Haider Ali
  • Hasan Nawaz
  • Maaz Sadaqat
  • Mohammad Wasim Jnr
  • Saad Masood
  • Saim Ayub
  • Sufyan Moqim
  • Usman Khan (wicket-keeper)

There is spin craft in Abrar Ahmed, pace potential in Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Akif Javed, and stroke-makers in Haider Ali, Saim Ayub and Usman Khan. It is not a squad built to ease into a tournament; it is built to find out who can handle the heat.

The stage is set: a reshaped Pakistan, a full-throttle India, and a draw that keeps the old rivalry simmering in the background. If Farhan’s men can turn promise into performance, Japan might just become the place where Pakistan’s next generation forces its way into the conversation.

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