India, Jan. 26 -- Pakistan have named their 15-man T20 World Cup squad with Salman Ali Agha as captain, Babar Azam back as the batting pillar, and Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah headlining the pace attack. All four group matches are in Colombo, but the build-up still carries a political footnote: the PCB has said the government will take the final call on participation.

Cricket-wise, though, the selection is a clear tilt towards flexibility. There are three wicketkeeper-bat options, two specialist spinners, and enough all-rounders to play match-ups aggressively. In Group A alongside India, Netherlands, USA and Namibia, Pakistan's pathway is familiar: strike early with pace, choke the middle with spin, then keep batting options to ch...