Pakistan, with their new approach in T20s, have emerged with these leading stars.
Pakistan seems to have laid the foundation for the 2026 T20 World Cup almost half a year ahead, thanks to a strong batting line-up with exciting youngsters and an experienced bowling line-up.
The recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025 has also thrown names that can headline big matches for the 2009 world champions. For long, they had relied on the mastery of veterans like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan at the top, along with a few clever cameos in the middle and the lower middle-order. The formula put them in the semifinals of the 2021 T20 World Cup and the final of the 2022 edition, but they looked out of depth in the 2024 edition.
In the recent series against Bangladesh, Pakistan showed their strength in the batting department by posting two identical totals of 201 in back-to-back matches. It looked like a statement from the side that they were ready to move on from Babar and Rizwan, no matter their availability.
Here are four players Pakistan will look to bank on in T20Is.
The unavailability of Ayub for the 2025 Champions Trophy due to an injury underlined how important he was to their white-ball set-up. Ayub had scored three hundreds in just nine ODIs he played so far, and batted with great consistency in two consecutive PSL seasons, where he averaged around 30 in 2023 and 2024.
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Even though his numbers aren’t great in T20Is, Ayub has the solid technique and timing that not many have in today’s game. Now is the right time to back the 23-year-old, who is averaging 20 at a strike rate of 137. He has the potential to become a key player for Pakistan in the future.
Farhan is currently in the form of his life. The 29-year-old played a huge role in Islamabad United reaching the play-offs in PSL 2025 and finished 10 runs ahead of Fakhar Zaman despite playing a match less, with 449 runs at an average of 37. The stand-out part of Farhan’s red-hot form is that he has scored four T20 hundreds since the beginning of 2025.
In Pakistan’s National T20 Cup, the right-hander has registered scores of 112 not out, 162 not out, and 148 in a single season, which is quite a feat. If he can keep going at the same pace, Pakistan will have a massive advantage going into the T20 World Cup.
Very easily the successor to Rizwan for the keeper-batter role, Haris has a penchant for hitting a purple patch, making a big difference when his team needs and then goes quiet for a while. It has happened since the beginning of his senior career in 2020.
It happened in the PSL 2025 when he began the tournament with 193 runs in the first five matches, but then managed only 54 runs in the next five matches. However, when he gets going, Haris is a huge threat to the opposition bowlers, as his scores of 31 and 41 against Bangladesh suggest.
Touted to be the next big thing in Pakistan cricket, Hasan Nawaz began his life in international cricket with two consecutive ducks against New Zealand. Just when all that hype felt like a flash in the pan, the youngster put on a jaw-dropping display of power-hitting in the third T20I against New Zealand. He made an unbeaten 105 off just 45 balls, which Pakistan chased down a target of 205 runs in just 16 overs, making it the third fastest chase in T20I history.
Nawaz was on a rampage yet again in the PSL 2025, averaging a stunning 57 after 10 innings for Quetta Gladiators, from which he amassed 399 runs at a strike rate of 162. He was deservedly awarded the Player of the Series for his consistent performances, which he continued into the Bangladesh series with scores of 44 and 51 not out.
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