The top performers of the Pakistan Super League - opening batsman Sahibzada Farhan and veteran pacer Hasani Ali - will be hoping their purple patch continues as the T20 league approaches its final set of matches and the players gear up for the next major assignment on the calendar.
Pakistan's national selectors recalled fast bowler Hasan for this month’s T20 home series against Bangladesh. Hasan played just one T20 International in nearly three years when he returned with expensive figures of 0-42 in three overs against Ireland in Dublin in 2024.
However, the right-arm fast bowler has forced his way back into the squad with a rich haul of 15 wickets in the ongoing PSL while representing the Karachi Kings, who play Lahore Qalandars in an Eliminator clash on Thursday.
Meanwhile, veteran batters Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam continue to be sidelined after being dropped for the last two series in Zimbabwe and New Zealand as Pakistan reshape their top-order ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.
Rizwan scored 367 runs at a strike rate of 139.54 in the PSL this season as his franchise, Multan suffered nine defeats in 10 games.
Babar’s Peshawar Zalmi also missed out on the play-offs for the first time in PSL history as he finished the season with 288 runs.
Back in the mix were opening batter Farhan, who leads the PSL charts with 394 runs in 10 games for Islamabad, and fellow dashing top order players Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman. All-rounders Faheem Ashraf and Hussain Talat also made their way back into the squad.
Farhan has been in particularly belligerent form this year. The top order player has already hit four T20 centuries this year, which is the joint most in a calendar year.
Also in the team is the much maligned all-rounder Ashraf, who celebrated his national team selection by powering Quetta Gladiators to their first PSL final in six years. The final takes place on Sunday.
All-rounder Ashraf was the star for Quetta as his 45 off 23 balls propelled the former champions to 209-6 against Islamabad in the first qualifier.
Ashraf (2-33) then struck immediately with the new ball when he bowled opening batter Alex Hales for a duck off his second ball and later also hit the top of James Neesham’s off-stump as Islamabad got bowled out for 179 in 19.4 overs.
Meanwhile, Salman Ali Agha, who was appointed captain ahead of the T20 series in Australia last year, will continue to lead the side with Shadab Khan as his deputy.
The series will be the first assignment for Pakistan’s newly appointed white-ball coach Mike Hesson, who is currently in charge of Islamabad United in the PSL.
The three-match series will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on May 28, May 30 and June 1.
Pakistan T20 squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim, Mohammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub
