Pakistan men’s hockey team has accepted an invitation to compete in the Pro League 2025–26 season, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed on Thursday.

The Green Shirts were formally invited by the apex body to participate in the “League of the Best” after Hockey New Zealand withdrew from the nine-team tournament despite winning the FIH Nations Cup earlier this year in Malaysia.

The PHF was initially given a deadline of August 12 to confirm its national men’s team’s participation, but the federation sought an extension until August 20 as it was awaiting financial support from the government.

The federation was subsequently issued Rs250m for the event on Wednesday, leading to it confirming its men’s team’s participation the next day.

“The International Hockey Federation (FIH) can confirm that the Pakistan men’s hockey team, nicknamed the Green Shirts, have accepted the invitation to participate in the upcoming 2025-26 season of the FIH Hockey Pro League,” the apex body said in a statement.

Pakistan will join arch-rivals India, alongside Argentina, Australia, Belgium, England, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain in the upcoming seventh edition of the tournament, replacing Ireland, who were relegated after finishing last in the previous season.

The Green Shirts’ participation in the tournament meant that they would also square off against traditional rivals India, who narrowly escaped relegation last season as they finished just above bottom-ranked Ireland.

FIH President Tayyab Ikram expressed his delight over Pakistan’s addition to the Pro League, stating it would be a major boost for the team with a rich history and would bolster the tournament’s viewership.

“Great to see Pakistan back in elite competition — this is a truly impactful milestone for world hockey,” Ikram said in an FIH-released statement.

“Their return marks not only the comeback of a team with such a rich and storied history, but also an exciting boost to the visibility and reach of the FIH Hockey Pro League. I can already anticipate an enhanced visibility of the Pro League with Pakistan’s participation.

“Congratulations to the Pakistan men’s team for qualifying through the FIH Hockey Nations Cup and earning their place in the ‘League of the Best’ for the very first time. This achievement is a strong example of how creating more opportunities at every level of our sport fosters growth and provides a natural pathway to the very top.”

For the unversed, Pakistan were set to participate in the inaugural edition of the FIH Pro League in 2019 but pulled out their first three games scheduled against Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, citing ‘inevitable circumstances’, which resulted in them being suspended from the tournament’s remainder.

Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan says his team have no “specific targets” despite producing groundbreaking performances in recent ICC global events, ahead of a T20 international tri-series starting Friday.

Rashid’s men face Pakistan in the opening game in Sharjah, with the United Arab Emirates the other side taking part in the event which serves as a warm-up for next month’s Asia Cup, also in the UAE.

Afghanistan reached the semi-finals of last year’s T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean, and narrowly missed out on reaching the last four at the ODI Champions Trophy in Pakistan earlier in 2025.

Those performances followed an impressive showing at the 2023 one-day World Cup, when the Afghans produced statement wins over England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“We do not have specific targets, and we do not want to put extra pressure on our players,” Rashid said Thursday when asked if Afghanistan are targeting the Asia Cup title.

“Our target is to play the brand of cricket we have played over the years. For us, the main target is to put in 200% effort on the ground,” he added.

“I think we have been doing well in the ICC events and although we haven’t played T20I cricket over the last few months, the guys have been playing in T20 leagues around the world and that has helped.”

Afghanistan beat Pakistan 2-1 in a T20I series at the same venue in 2023.

The 16-man Afghan squad for the tri-series includes fast-rising mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar along with fellow spin bowlers Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid.

The Asia Cup gets under way on September 9, as teams ramp up their preparations for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Contrary to Afghanistan, Pakistan’s fortunes are dipping after they crashed out of the last T20 World Cup in the group stage before failing to win a match at the Champions Trophy.

This year they lost a T20 series in Bangladesh 2-1 but overcame the West Indies by the same margin.

Under new captain Salman Agha, Pakistan are going through a transition with former skippers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan out of the T20 squad.

“We are trying to build a team and this tri-series and then the Asia Cup will be a good opportunity to achieve that,” said Agha.

“We know both these events will be challenging but we are ready.”

All three teams in the tri-series will play each other twice, with the top two to face off in a final on September 7.

Besides Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UAE, the Asia Cup will also include defending champions India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman and Hong Kong.