Reporting snapshot · 3 November 2026 (Asia/Karachi). The squad has been named, but the final XI, batting order and bowling plans will not be settled until the tournament begins in Qatar. The main limitation is that the Pakistan Cricket Board's announcement gives the squad and fixtures without a form guide or confirmation of warm-up matches.
What happened
The Pakistan Cricket Board named a 15-member Shaheens squad on Tuesday, 3 November, for the 50-over ACC Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars 2026 in Qatar, with Abdul Samad as captain. The PCB’s announcement said the tournament runs from 19 to 29 November. The Express Tribune reported that Pakistan enter as defending champions and open their campaign against the United Arab Emirates on 20 November.
Dawn reported that Maaz Sadaqat and Hasan Nawaz, both members of the senior squad that won the one-day tri-series at home last month, were included in the Shaheens party. The announcement leaves the selected players a little over two weeks before their first match.
The squad
Abdul Samad will captain a batting group that also includes Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Haider Ali, Shahzaib Khan, Farhan Yousuf and Shamyl Hussain, with Rohail Nazir named as the designated wicketkeeper. The spin department consists of left-arm all-rounder Danish Aziz, leg-spinner Saad Masood and Sufyan Moqim, while Mohammad Hasnain leads a pace attack completed by Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed and Muhammad Imran Randhawa.
The full squad, as announced by the PCB and listed by The Express Tribune, is: Abdul Samad (captain), Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Danish Aziz, Farhan Yousuf, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Saad Masood, Shahzaib Khan, Shamyl Hussain and Sufyan Moqim.
The selection mixes players who have already appeared for the senior side with domestic performers who have not. Sadaqat and Nawaz were both in the senior squad for the ODI tri-series that Pakistan won on 31 October; Sadaqat opened in the final and Nawaz made an unbeaten 37 in the chase, as KhabarWire’s report on the final recorded. Sadaqat had also climbed 187 places in the ICC Twenty20 international rankings in October, a rise reported separately, underlining the selectors’ interest in him across formats.
Daniyal carries a particular memory from the previous edition. The Express Tribune noted that he was the Shaheens’ super-over hero when Pakistan won the T20 version of the tournament, beating Bangladesh A in a final that went to a tie-breaker. His inclusion in the 50-over squad gives the pace group an option with experience of a compressed, high-pressure finish.
When and where Pakistan plays
Pakistan are in Group B with India A, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates. Group A contains Afghanistan A, Bangladesh A, Hong Kong China and Sri Lanka A. The top two teams from each group reach the semi-finals.
The Shaheens begin against the UAE on 20 November at the University of Doha for Science and Technology in a day match starting at 11am Pakistan time. They then face India A on 22 November and Nepal on 24 November, both at 3pm Pakistan time at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha. The semi-finals are scheduled for 26 and 27 November, also at 3pm, with the final on Sunday, 29 November at 3pm. The Express Tribune published the fixture list with those venues and times.
The schedule gives Pakistan at least three group matches and, if they progress, up to five matches between 20 and 29 November. The opening fixture is the only day match; the remaining games are listed as day-night fixtures under floodlights.
Why it matters
Pakistan are defending the 50-over title they won in Sri Lanka in 2023, when they beat India A by 128 runs in the final. They also hold the T20 title from the previous edition, which they won against Bangladesh A in a super over. The record in the competition is strong: Pakistan were runners-up in the first two editions in 2013 and 2017, won in 2019 and won again in 2023, according to The Express Tribune.
For the players, the value lies in 50-over repetitions that the domestic calendar does not always provide in a concentrated block. A tournament of up to five matches in 10 days gives batters time to build innings and bowlers a chance to work through different phases against international opposition, rather than the four-over bursts that dominate T20 cricket.
The timing also matters for Pakistan’s senior set-up. The national side has just completed a home one-day tri-series against England and Sri Lanka, and the selectors are weighing which fringe players can step up during the build-up to the 2027 World Cup. Sadaqat and Nawaz have already had a taste of that environment; the Shaheens tournament gives them, and the uncapped players around them, another set of 50-over innings to press a claim.
The squad also reflects the balance Pakistan have chosen for the conditions. Three specialist spinners, including the left-arm all-rounder Danish Aziz, sit alongside four pace options. That mix suggests the team want cover for both the day matches and the floodlit games, when dew and the surface can change the value of spin and seam.
What is still uncertain
The final XI, the batting order and the bowling plans are not settled. The PCB announcement named the squad and the fixtures but did not set out a warm-up programme or a departure date. Those details may emerge before the squad leaves for Doha.
The conditions in Qatar are also an open question. The tournament is being played in November, when daytime heat and evening dew can both affect a 50-over match, and Pakistan’s first game is the only scheduled day fixture. How the West End Park pitches behave, and whether the day-night matches favour spin or pace, will become clearer only once the tournament starts.
Selection is not final until the first XI is named. A player can be withdrawn or replaced before the tournament, and the form that selectors saw in domestic cricket may not carry directly into a short international competition. The squad announcement establishes who is in the frame, not how Pakistan will line up against the UAE on 20 November.
The tournament falls under KhabarWire’s Pakistan Cricket hub.
