Five local youngsters to watch out for in PSL 11

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) begins in less than a week, and all eight teams have now finalized their squads. Can any players emerge as surprises this season and break into Pakistan’s international team? Here are five local talents that one can put their money on.

Abdullah Fazal

Abdullah Fazal has played eight T20 games so far and has failed to get past 40 runs in only one of them. In the National T20 Cup, he averages 189 in three games and has been dismissed only once, with one game yet to be played.

Additionally, he was also leading the charts in Pakistan’s first-class President's Trophy this year, having scored 622 runs in seven games.

For the upcoming PSL season, Abdullah has been roped in by Rawalpindi Pindiz, and after his spectacular form in the National T20 Cup, he is very likely to make his PSL debut.

Farhan Yousaf

Pakistan don’t usually get good middle-order batters, less so the type that Farhan Yousaf fits in, that is, those who know how to shift gears. In the National T20 Cup, no batter with more than a hundred runs had a better strike rate than Farhan.

While Peshawar Zalmi had plenty of drawbacks in their batting lineup, Farhan could solve one, and the most crucial, of them: middle-order woes.

Maaz Sadaqat

Maaz Sadaqat played for Peshawar Zalmi in the latter part of PSL last year. In four games, he scored at an average of 39 while striking at a rate of 165. What’s more is that he managed to go big while batting entirely out of place for Zalmi, at Nos. 5 and 6.

And scoring runs at a decent strike rate is hardly the only thing Maaz brings to the table. He is slowly transitioning into a full-time spinner. He took three wickets against Bangladesh in just his second international game, albeit in ODIs, in a series where none of the other Pakistan players looked as comfortable.

Maaz should get nothing less than a full campaign this year with Hyderabad Kingsmen. At the top, likely with captain Marnus Labuschagne, he can do what’s most desired of openers: maximise the powerplay.

Abdul Subhan

Abdul Subhan has taken 15 YODI wickets just three months into 2026. That’s the second most across all teams this year, with England’s Manny Lumsden at the top. All but two of those wickets came during the U-19 World Cup, with nine wickets against teams like India, New Zealand, and England.

But isn’t that another format? It most certainly is. And aren’t cross-format comparisons irrelevant? Arguably, yes. However, Subhan has a strong case in the shortest format as well; what he doesn’t have are numbers to back him.

He has only played four T20 games, two of which came during the recent National T20 Cup. In his first game this season, he tore through Karachi Blues' batting lineup, grabbing four, albeit pricey, wickets.

Muhammad Ismail

Muhammad Ismail took eleven wickets last National T20 season, where he only played five games. This year, representing Multan Region, he has played one match and grabbed three scalps. He has pace and can be trusted with the new ball, even as a first-change bowler.

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