Pakistan Cricket Captain 2026: Who Leads the Team in Every Format

One page, one answer: who captains Pakistan in 2026? With three different leaders across the formats — and a change as recent as 5 October — this is the current, verified picture of Pakistan’s captaincy in Tests, ODIs and T20Is, plus the women’s team.

The 2026 captaincy table

• Test captain: Babar Azam — appointed July 2026, succeeding Shan Masood. Second stint; first series included the September England tour. Full guide.
• ODI captain: Shaheen Shah Afridi — appointed November 2025, succeeding Mohammad Rizwan. Currently leading the tri-series vs Sri Lanka and England. Full guide.
• T20I captain: Sahibzada Farhan — appointed 5 October 2026, succeeding Salman Ali Agha. First series: Sri Lanka T20Is at Rawalpindi, 9–13 October. Full guide.
• Women’s captain: Fatima Sana — in charge since the 2024 T20 World Cup; signed for Perth Scorchers’ WBBL 2026 season. Full guide.

Why three captains?

Split captaincy is now the norm in international cricket, and Pakistan has embraced it fully. The logic: different formats demand different skills, different squads and different schedules — one person cannot do it all without burning out. It also lets the PCB blood leaders in one format while keeping stability in another: Farhan’s T20I appointment is explicitly a rebuild toward the 2028 T20 World Cup, while Shaheen’s ODI continuity and Babar’s Test experience anchor the other formats.

Every 2026 change

2026 has been a year of leadership transition. July: Babar Azam replaces Shan Masood as Test captain. 5 October: Sahibzada Farhan replaces Salman Ali Agha as T20I captain (Agha also dropped from the T20I squad but kept in ODIs). Shaheen Afridi’s ODI captaincy — dating to November 2025 — is the one constant. The pattern since the 2023 World Cup is unmistakable: the T20I role changes with results, the other two change by plan. Our captains hub tracks every appointment.

What comes next

October 2026 is a defining month: Farhan’s Sri Lanka T20Is (9–13 October, Rawalpindi), then Shaheen’s ODI tri-series with Sri Lanka and England (18–31 October, Rawalpindi and Lahore). How the two new-era leaders perform — Farhan brand new, Shaheen eleven months in — will set the tone for the 2028 T20 World Cup build and the ongoing ODI cycle. Babar’s Test side, meanwhile, regroups after the England tour for the home season.

Pakistan captain 2026: FAQs

Who is the captain of the Pakistan cricket team in 2026?

Babar Azam (Tests), Shaheen Shah Afridi (ODIs) and Sahibzada Farhan (T20Is) — three captains for three formats.

Who is the Pakistan national cricket team captain?

There isn’t a single one: Pakistan uses split captaincy. Farhan leads T20Is, Shaheen leads ODIs, Babar leads Tests (October 2026).

Who is Pakistan’s T20 captain vs ODI captain?

T20I: Sahibzada Farhan (since 5 Oct 2026). ODI: Shaheen Shah Afridi (since Nov 2025).

Will Pakistan go back to one captain for all formats?

No sign of it — the PCB’s 2026 appointments deliberately split the roles, with Farhan’s T20I job framed as a rebuild toward the 2028 T20 World Cup.