Follow UsThe Pakistan cricket team of late have not been themselves. Their nature to surprise everyone in big tournaments seems to have been lost ever since the T20 World Cup 2022.
In the multinational events post T20 World Cup 2022, Pakistan failed to make a mark in the Asia Cup 2023, ODI World Cup 2023, T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
However, come Asia Cup 2025, they might still pull the old trick out of their hat thanks to these three players in their squad.
Saim Ayub has the ability to do big hitting in the shortest format, and he is someone who is different from the usual Babar-Rizwan pairing that took the game at their own pace. Coming after an injury, Saim, who has already scored a fifty against West Indies, has 17 fifties in 108 T20s.
His strike rate of 141 will only go up on the batting-friendly, dew-laden night pitches of the UAE. With an average of nearly 50 in ODIs, Saim has shown that he can be the anchor as well around which the entire team can play. And he will not just be the anchor hitting 40-ball 50, but someone who can also push the accelerator.
He is not a stylist; he doesn’t have those shots that will make you admire him as a batter, but Hasan Nawaz is someone who will win you matches, as that is what he has done all his life.
The 23-year-old, who rose to fame with his unbeaten 105 in only his third international match against New Zealand in Auckland, has an average of nearly 60 for Pakistan in wins, which goes to almost 6 in losses. He has been part of seven wins and seven losses for the nation. For Quetta Gladiators, his Pakistan Super League (PSL) team, too, he averages nearly 80 in wins.
Nawaz’s overall strike rate of 151 in T20s is the real antidote to Pakistan cricket’s batting woes.
If Ayub and Hasan are young talents, Haris Rauf has shown on the global stage that he knows how it's done. He is someone who likes the big stage, as is seen by his performances in the T20 World Cup as well as the Asia Cup T20.
In 22 matches in the two competitions combined, Rauf has picked up 28 wickets at an average of 20.4 and an economy rate of 7.1. His strike rate of 17.1 makes him even more lethal, sending signals that if you play him, he is definitely going to get you the important wicket.
If not for the 22 wides that he has bowled in the matches of the big tournaments, he would have been unbelievable.