Follow UsPakistan announced their squad for the Asia Cup 2025 on August 17 (Sunday). It features more young names than old horses. In fact, two of the best-known Pakistani cricket faces, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, have also been shown the door in what is going to be one of the most important tournaments, with less than a year to go for the T20 World Cup.
But could these young faces become the wave of change that is needed to shake Pakistan cricket? Well, they can start becoming that by tormenting their arch-rivals India in the Asia Cup 2025.
Here are the top three Pakistani youngsters who can torment India in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. India and Pakistan will go head-to-head for the first time in the Asia Cup 2025 on September 14 in Dubai.
Sahibzada Farhan might be a new name in international cricket, and he has gained fame thanks to his Player of the Match-worthy performance in the decider of Pakistan's three-match T20I series against West Indies. But he has been a part of Pakistan’s domestic structure for quite some time now.
The 29-year-old has an average of 45 in first-class cricket with 10 centuries to his name. He has a well-established T20 career as well, scoring 3,863 runs with a highest score of 162*. He is one of those batters who can play both pace and spin very well, and hence India should be wary of him.
If Farhan is a calculative batter who takes time to settle and change gears, Hasan Nawaz is a tormentor in the real sense, striking from the word go. Batting usually at numbers three and four, Nawaz has a strike rate of 175 in his 14-match T20I career so far.
Overall, in 47 T20s, the left-hander has amassed 1,230 runs at an average of 30 and a strike rate of 151, thanks to two centuries and six fifties to his credit.
If those two batters could be the much-needed boost for an otherwise beleaguered Pakistani batting line-up, Sufiyan Muqueem also fits the bill as left-arm wrist spin could always trouble Indian batters.
It is not very often that one can spot a left-arm wrist spinner who is also very accurate. The 25-year-old is exactly that. He has taken 21 wickets in 13 T20Is with an economy rate of 6.75. It is not just his economy rate, but also the strike rate that could spell trouble for India.
Muqeem has struck every 11.95 deliveries in T20Is, which means he picks one wicket in every two overs that he bowls in international cricket, making him a dangerous prospect to deal with.