About 15 months ago, Pakistan cricket was at an all-time low. The Men in Green lost to the USA and were knocked out of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was furious. Chairman Mohsin Naqvi hinted at making sweeping changes. And that’s exactly what’s happened.
Two of the biggest superstars, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, have been moved on from. Others, like Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah, aren’t in the mix for the Asia Cup either. Under new head coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Ali Agha, Pakistan are starting to emerge as one of the better T20I teams once again.
Strengths & Opportunities
Intent and depth: Hesson and Agha have understood how modern T20 cricket works. Instead of playing conservatively by keeping wickets in hand until the 10th over, Pakistan now comes out all guns blazing. Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, and Fakhar Zaman don’t hang around. They swing freely and try to maximise the powerplay. But it doesn’t stop there.
By adding batting depth until number eight, Pakistan stays on the attack. To get players to buy in, Captain Agha has played aggressively himself. His fearlessness brings out the best in other batters. Players like Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Haris value runs over their wickets.
Plethora of bowling options: Pakistan used to play four proper bowlers and one or two all-rounders. They have changed that. Now, in their 17-man squad, they have 6 all-rounders—four of them spinners. There are two off-spinners, two left-arm spinners, and two right-arm pace bowlers. In the ongoing tri-series against Afghanistan and the UAE, they have played with 7 bowling options. That’s plenty for the Asia Cup.
Wrist spin: In these times, wrist spinners work. Difficult-to-read spinners thrive even more. Pakistan has a leg spinner, Abrar Ahmed, who just took a 4-fer against the UAE. They also have Sufiyan Muqeem, a left-arm wrist spinner—the rarest type of bowler. Both can turn the ball both ways. On spin-friendly pitches, they can be a handful.
Weaknesses & Threats
Inconsistent top order: In the four matches Pakistan have played against UAE and Afghanistan, only thrice has one of their top four passed the 30-run mark. That’s 3 out of 16. Strike rate isn’t an issue, but they are leaving too much for the middle and lower middle order to do. This needs to be sorted out.
Powerplay and death bowling: Shaheen Afridi‘s getting back to his best, but his prowess on the new balls hasn’t returned. In 2025, Shaheen takes a wicket every 23 balls in the powerplay. That’s one wicket every two matches. His economy has risen as well. His death bowling has improved, but Haris Rauf has an economy of nearly 11 this year from overs 16 to 20. Rauf also doesn’t bowl in the powerplay. Faheem Ashraf has done well at the fag end, but you can’t keep too much faith in him as of now.
Finishing: Mohammad Nawaz has been striking it at 137 in the tri-series, while Mohammad Haris is averaging 7.75 with an 86.11 strike rate. These aren’t good signs for the Asia Cup. Faheem is striking under 134 as well. The top order hasn’t been firing much, and then the finishers are failing. They have to sort both out.
Pakistan squad for Asia Cup
Batters: Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Sahibzada Farhan
All-rounders: Salman Agha (c), Faheem Ashraf, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah
Bowlers: Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Mohammad Wasim, Salman Mirza
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