Pakistan heads to the T20 World Cup with a mix of conservatism and hope. Struggling with inconsistency and Babar Azam's form, they rely on all-rounders Saim Ayub and Mohammed Nawaz to navigate their rollercoaster journey for a second title.
An up-and-down Pakistan, struggling with conservatism in their batting, will be counting on their key batters and all-round excellence of Saim Ayub and Mohammed Nawaz as they aim to seal their second ICC T20 World Cup title in the familiar Asian conditions.
Pakistan's preparation for the T20 World Cup has been a rollercoaster ride both on and off the field. Controversies such as 'handshake gate' with Team India during the Asia Cup or the government's boycott of group stage clash against defending champions India or poor performances of their superstar batter Babar Azam, known as the 'King' to the country's cricket die-hards, have kept Pakistan in the news for all the wrong reasons. But on the other hand, some recent encouraging results against Australia at home and performances by spinners/all-rounders have given them something to rejoice about and be positive about.
Team record since T20 World Cup 2024
Since their group-stage exit in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Pakistan has played 47 T20Is, winning 27 and losing 20, reflecting a patchy and inconsistent display of cricket throughout. In a series-wise breakdown, Pakistan has played 13 bilateral series/tri-series/multi-nation tournaments, winning seven of them. They have been extremely poor away from home, with series losses to big teams like Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Here is a series wise breakdown of their performances: -0-3 series loss to Australia away from home (November 2024), 2-1 series win over Zimbabwe away from home (December 2024), 0-2 series loss to South Africa away from home (December 2024), 1-4 series loss to New Zealand away from home (March 2025), 3-0 series win over Bangladesh at home (May 2025), 1-2 series loss to Bangladesh away from home (July 2025), 2-1 series win over West Indies in USA (July-August 2025), Tri-nation series win in UAE over Afghanistan and UAE (August-September 2025), Asia Cup runners-up to India (September 2025), 2-1 series win at home against South Africa (October-November 2025), tri-series win at home over Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe (November 2025), 1-1 series draw against Sri Lanka at home (January 2026) and 3-0 clean sweep win over Australia at home (January-February 2026).
Top performers for Pakistan since the last T20 World Cup
*Saim Ayub: 919 runs in 38 matches and innings at an average of 26.25, SR of 141.16 with six fifties. 24 wickets at an average of 22.
*Sahibzada Farhan: 862 runs in 34 matches and innings at an average of 26.12 and SR of above 131, with eight fifties.
*Salman Agha: 856 runs in 45 matches and 42 innings at an average of 25.17, SR of above 122 with six fifties.
*Abrar Ahmed: 44 wickets in 31 matches at an average of 16.88, with a four-fer.
*Mohammed Nawaz: 44 wickets at an average of 13.45, with two fifers and best figures of 5/18. 419 runs in 26 innings at an average of 19.95, SR of above 140, with best score of 38.
*Shaheen Shah Afridi: 32 wickets in 28 matches at an average of 23.96, with best figures of 3/17.
Positives for Pakistan
Fine record in Sri Lanka
In their T20Is played at Sri Lanka, where they will start off their group stage, they have a fine record of nine wins and four losses.
X-factor of Khawaja Nafay
The wicketkeeper-batter has played two cameos for Pakistan in two T20Is and a solid season of Abu Dhabi T10 with Quetta Qawalry, where he scored 178 runs in eight games at a strike rate of 243.5 suggests he could be a power-hitting X-factor Pakistan want in their squad.
Red-hot Nawaz
One cannot just keep Nawaz out of action, be it while batting or bowling. Be it delivering clutch spells with the ball or producing fiery finishes, he can do it all, as suggested by the stats above.
Ayub's form
The top-ranked T20I all-rounder is in a fine form, and his ability as a quality spinner gives the side plenty of balance and the luxury of playing an extra at times.
A fine spin attack
The spin attack featuring Abrar, Ayub and Nawaz has been a productive trio for Pakistan and their spin bowling average of 17.43 as a collective after the T20 WC is second-best after India's 15.99 among Test-playing nations.
Negatives for Pakistan
Babar's inclusion takes the team two steps back
Despite a sub-par Big Bash League (BBL) debut where he huffed and puffed his way to a strike rate of above 103 and 202 runs at an average of over 22 with just two fifties for Sydney Sixers, Babar is back in the T20I set-up. In 18 T20Is since the last WC, he has been as abysmal in international colours as he is in franchise cricket, with just 360 runs in 16 innings at an average of 27.69 and a sub-par strike rate of over 120 with three fifties. Despite some firepower in the batting lineup, his inclusion means Pakistan has not fully moved on from its 'anchor' role in T20Is and remains a conservative side.
Haris Rauf's absence
The express pacer finds himself out of the side despite 31 wickets in 22 matches since the last T20 WC at an average of above 21 and two four-fers, and Pakistan will miss his pace and presence on the field.
Poor collective batting strike rate
Their overall batting strike rate of 129.32 is the third-worst among Test-playing nations, next to Afghanistan (125.27) and Sri Lanka (124.83). Their captain striking at just over 122 does not help them either.
Pakistan squad
Salman Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq. (ANI)
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