T20 World Cup Preview | Pakistan look to keep old habits at bay with odds stacked against them

‌Pakistan last triumphed at an ICC event in 2017 when they lifted the Champions Trophy, and have since made the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup where they lost to England. However, throughout the course of the decade, at no point have they looked like a dominant white-ball team that can adapt to the dynamic needs of the modern game. As they head into another T20 World Cup, the situation is no different with selection, team culture, and political issues continuing to abound.  

How did Pakistan fare at the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean?

Pretty much as bad as they could. With all eyes fixated on the India-Pakistan clash in New York, the Men in Green’s opener against the hosts was supposed to be a mere precursor to the main event in 2024. However, a disciplined USA bowling effort kept Pakistan to 159/7, which was duly matched courtesy of a Monark Patel half-century and a late blitz from Aaron Jones, amongst other contributions. The worst was yet to come as bowling first in the Super Over, the returning Mohammed Aamir conceded a boundary on the first ball before delivering three wides that cost a cumulative seven runs in an over worth 18. In response, Pakistan could only manage 13. 

More horrors awaited in the main event, despite three wickets each from Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf restricting India to 119, albeit on a devastatingly unpredictable deck. Pakistan kept themselves in the game until the 14th over and required 40 off 36, when Jasprit Bumrah sounded chase anchor Mohammad Rizwan the death rattle after a 44-ball 31. Bumrah ended with 3/14 in four overs, and Pakistan fell six runs short.

A straightforward win against Canada and a tricky three-wicket win in a 110-run chase against Ireland followed, but it was too little too late as India and USA qualified from the group to the Super Eight.

How have the results been since?

After being hampered by revolving head coaches following the World Cup (more on it later), Pakistan’s results have vastly improved of late. In the wake of the event, they won just one of 10 T20Is against Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, with a series win against Zimbabwe (2-1) sandwiched in between. However, since Mike Hesson took over last year, the team has lost just one out of eight bilateral and trilateral affairs. At home, they defeated Bangladesh (3-0) and South Africa (2-1), won a tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, and most recently whitewashed Australia 3-0. However, in away conditions they’ve lost to Bangladesh (2-1) and drawn against Sri Lanka (1-1), with the only wins coming against West Indies in the USA (2-1), and a tri-series triumph featuring Bangladesh and hosts UAE.

Regardless, all those performances were underpinned by their performance at the Asia Cup. Even though Pakistan defeated all of Oman, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh rather convincingly to make the final, they lost the summit clash to India – a third such defeat in the tournament against their arch-rivals, none of which they looked like winning for any significant part of the game.

PAK since the last T20 World Cup: W 27 L 20

Has the team’s playstyle and personnel changed too?

Drastically. Head coach at the 2024 event, Gary Kirsten, who took charge less than a month before the World Cup, resigned soon after when Pakistan stripped him off the power to select matchday lineups. Aqib Javed served in an interim capacity for five months before Pakistan landed Mike Hesson in May 2025, a highly experienced coach in the franchise circuit and the architect of New Zealand’s white-ball rise in the previous decade.

Hesson was immediately bullish on the importance of all-rounders in T20 cricket, going so far as to declare “the idea of specialist batters is outdated.” Boldly, he called out the team culture and fielding standards too, stating Pakistan needed to evolve from the timid way they were still playing in the modern era.

Consequently, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, who resigned as captain in the aftermath of the 2024 World Cup, were both omitted from Hesson’s T20 plans. Results were immediately evident as Pakistan registered two 200-plus totals and chased down 197 with ease in their first series under him against Bangladesh at home. New skipper Salman Agha identified the supersonic Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Haris as match-winners to be groomed, declaring it as an explicit goal of his leadership tenure. However, on the return tour, they were greeted by tumultuous slow tracks where they failed to adapt their ways and duly lost 2-1.

The team never truly recovered from the setback and seems to have since regressed to their old ways. Babar was inexplicably welcomed back following the Asia Cup despite a poor PSL campaign and has retained his place since, playing at three and four, despite a meagre strike rate of 117 in the time period. Neither Hasan nor Haris found a place in the World Cup squad, as was the case for quick-scoring batters like Hussain Talat and Tayyab Tahir after they failed to show any consistency when given chances.

Other batters that lost their place after the World Cup debacle were wicket-keeper Azam Khan and designated finisher Iftikhar Ahmed. Sahibzada Farhan has earned a spot instead as a result of some swashbuckling knocks at the top of the order, including a couple of lone warrior efforts against India. Back-up keeper in 2024, Usman Khan, has meanwhile been upgraded to the starting XI with 23-year-old Khawaja Nafay hot on his heels.

The most significant change in personnel has been the trade-off of specialist bowlers for all-rounders. While only three two-way players featured in the 2024 squad, five of them have been included for 2026. Saim Ayub, who has grown into a wicket-taking force in the powerplay, and Shadab Khan have retained their places, while Imad Wasim has given way to Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, and Salman.

In the pace department, Amir, Abbas Afridi, and Haris Rauf have been dropped despite the latter snaring 20 wickets in 11 matches in the recently concluded Big Bash League. Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi remain, even though neither is any longer a fixture in the line-up, with Salman Mirza the first-pick, courtesy of 19 wickets in 13 T20Is at an economy of 6.36. Abrar Ahmed is still the primary spin option, backed up by 28-year-old Usman Tariq, who shot to prominence with a brilliant Caribbean Premier League campaign and has played three T20Is since, scalping eight wickets.

Pakistan’s squad for the T20 World Cup: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq

Probable XI: 1 Saim Ayub 2 Sahibzada Farhan 3 Babar Azam 4 Fakhar Zaman 5 Salman Agha (c), 6 Usman Khan (wk) 7 Mohammad Nawaz 8 Faheem Ashraf/ Shadab Khan 9 Shaheen Afridi/ Naseem Shah 10 Salman Mirza 11 Abrar Ahmed

What is Pakistan’s best hope in the World Cup?

Inarguably, their spin attack. Only Varun Chakravarthy has more than Abrar and Nawaz’s 44 wickets each since the last T20 World Cup, their scalps coming at an astonishing economy rate of 6.60 and 6.61, respectively. Ayub, meanwhile, has emerged as a bona fide all-rounder himself, taking 24 wickets at an economy of 7.02, including 10 in the powerplay. Only Afghanistan’s spin unit (6.79) boasts a better economy than Pakistan’s 6.94, while only Indian spinners (12.59) have a better strike rate than Pakistan’s record of a wicket every 14.60 balls of spin. Even though playing on largely low-scoring decks has helped those numbers, Pakistan will be playing all their World Cup fixtures in Sri Lanka, where such skillsets could prove to be the difference between a first-round exit and a deep run into the tournament. With Mirza emerging as a formidable option in the shortest format and Shaheen Afridi also inching closer to his best in recent times, on their day, Pakistan’s bowling attack can challenge the best in the world on subcontinental strips.

On the batting front, Ayub will hold the key to success, given his ability to be explosive in the powerplay is arguably unmatched in the squad, evidenced by an overall strike rate of 140-plus since the last World Cup. A return to form for Salman has also arrived as a blessing for the subcontinent side, the skipper overcoming a disastrous slump characterised by abominable strike rates with a 27-ball 39 and 40-ball 76 in recent wins against Australia.

But, the problem is…

That being said, scoring rates remain the biggest problem for Pakistan. Since the 2024 T20 World Cup, Pakistan is one of only three amongst the top-nine teams participating in the upcoming edition to have scored under 130 in T20s, with Sri Lanka and Afghanistan being the other two. The same holds true of their six count per match of 6.36, in a period where three teams have averaged more than eight sixes per match. Their powerplay strike rate of 122 in the period is simply not cut out for the current era of T20 batting, resulting in just nine 180-plus scores in 28 attempts batting first. A lack of experience in the finishing department has similarly seen them struggle while chasing, winning just 10 of their 18 games when batting second. However, when set 150-plus, Pakistan have emerged triumphant in just two out of nine attempts. 

Verdict: Semi-final showing would count as a win

Pakistan already head into the World Cup with a loss to their name, having decided to boycott their group-stage match against India. The forfeiture will also vastly impact their net run rate, and while that should not be a concern given wins against the USA, Namibia, and the Netherlands would be enough to take them through to the Super Eight, the previous edition showed it is far from a given. Beyond that, breaking into the top four should prove to be difficult ahead of the likes of India, South Africa, Australia, and England.