He has consistently been a top performer.
A match-winning performance from Mohammad Nawaz in the tri-series final against Afghanistan last night wasn’t a fluke or one-off. He has consistently been a top performer and at the centre of things since Pakistan decided to revamp their approach and method in T20Is. While the omission of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan grabbed the limelight, Nawaz quietly did his job.
He wasn’t a consistent member until last year. Between 2023 and June 2025, Pakistan played 46 T20Is, and Nawaz was part of only five of them. In this period, they gave chances to Shadab Khan (28) and Imad Wasim (17) more consistently as spin-bowling all-rounders.
However, once Shadab’s performances didn’t improve and Wasim retired again, Pakistan decided to give another run to Nawaz in July earlier this year. This came when he played only four matches in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025. However, he ensured he grabbed the chance immediately.
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Since making a T20I comeback in July earlier this year, Nawaz has been the top performer for Pakistan. Despite missing as many as eight games, he is the team’s leading wicket-taker in 2025, with 20 scalps at 10.90 runs apiece in 11 innings. He has the best average, strike rate (10.10), and second-best economy rate (6.47) among Pakistani bowlers with at least three outings.
He has dismissed multiple batters six times. A notable shift has been in his wicket-taking ability. Earlier, he was an economical bowler whose job was to control runs.
From his debut to making his comeback in July this year, Nawaz had 50 wickets at an average of 27.22, including a best of 3/5, in 57 T20I innings. On average, he would take around 0.87 wickets per innings and went wicketless in 40.35% of his innings. He was still doing well to restrict run flow, as his economy rate of 7.41 depicts.
However, it has changed since his return. Nawaz now picks around 1.81 wickets per innings and has been wicketless in only 18.18% of the time. 28.57% of his total T20I wickets have come since his comeback.
That doesn’t mean he has compromised the economy rate. In fact, his economy rate is better than before, and he has added that wicket-taking weapon in his armour to become a more all-rounded bowler. Obviously, the numbers will exacerbate as he plays more, but a new dimension to his bowling skills is clearly visible.
The upgrade doesn’t only come in the bowling department. While that has obviously been a major change, Nawaz’s batting has been equally fruitful. He has already played multiple cameos since his comeback.
He has 161 runs at an average of 17.88 and a strike rate of 127.77 in 10 outings, including a best of 37*. His utility knocks, like the one against Afghanistan or the UAE in the tri-series, have been vital in the lower order. However, the biggest improvement has been in pace-hitting.
Between 2022 and 2024, Nawaz had a strike rate of 135.26 and a balls-per-boundary ratio of 5.75 against pacers. This year, the strike rate has jumped to a whopping 161.11, and he finds a boundary every 4.15 deliveries against fast bowlers. Even in general, his T20 strike rate since last year – 160.59 – has seen a massive surge compared to 2023, where he struck at a tepid 111.17.
He usually bats in the lower order, where his job has been to provide a final flourish to the innings. That’s where his improved pace game has been handy. He has enabled Pakistan to go harder at the top by providing a batting cushion.
Pakistan gave Shadab Khan an extended run and even recalled Imad Wasim for the T20 World Cup 2024. But both failed to deliver consistently. Hence, they revamped their bowling combination and recalled Nawaz while giving more chances to a young Sufiyan Muqeem.
The move paid dividends, as both showed the ability to snare wickets while remaining economical. Pakistan might have wanted a right-arm specialist spinner, but these two have done the job. Nawaz has done what they expected from Shadab.
He had never really sealed his spot despite getting decent chances before. Then, the team has had a tendency to look for quick results. However, he has grabbed this fresh chance and ensured Pakistan don’t look any further for a spin-bowling all-rounder.
The bigger task, though, has yet to come. Nawaz has definitely improved, but with better opponents to come in the Asia Cup 2025 and beyond, he will face his biggest challenge yet. He will look to build on this comeback run and ensure Pakistan don’t have any doubts ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026.
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