Standout Pakistan players in PSL 2025 including Ali Raza and Sahibzada Farhan

The National

23-04-2025

The Pakistan Super League is striding towards the halfway mark of the league phase and there are encouraging signs both on and off the field. When the tournament kicked off, there were fears that the PSL might have to fight for eye balls and prominence as it clashed directly with the Indian Premier League. With no other window available in the calendar, the PSL decided to bite the bullet. The results so far have been encouraging, with this season of the PSL experiencing a staggering 800 per cent rise in live streaming viewership during the opening weekend, as compared to the previous season, according to the league. Last year, the PSL was competing with a number of other international matches and franchise leagues in the January-February window. But this time, with only the IPL going on in the cricket world, the PSL seems to have swallowed up most of the remaining viewership pie. The cricket has been exciting as well. This year some of the pitches, especially Karachi, have served up excellent matches. Also, Pakistan players have risen to the occasion, making telling contributions with the bat and ball. Below, we take a look at the best Pakistan players in PSL 2025 so far. The top-order batsman has been in and out of the national team but is on an unstoppable run in T20 cricket this year. The Islamabad opener scored a century at a strike rate of 200 and followed it up with a fifty. In T20 matches in 2025, Farhan has already hit a record four tons – the joint most in a calendar year – and averages more than 90 and has a strike rate of above 180. He is almost guaranteed to break the record of most T20 tons in a year sooner rather than later and should find himself firmly in the mix for national team and the T20 World Cup early next year. The hugely impressive wicketkeeper-batsman grabbed headlines during the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia where he was pushed directly into a must-win match against South Africa, after replacing the injured Fakhar Zaman, and played a belligerent knock of 28 from 11. His inspirational batting fuelled Pakistan all the way to the final. Still, Haris could not become a regular feature in the white-ball team. However, following failures in subsequent ICC tournaments, Haris' attacking mindset has gained many admirers. This PSL, the Peshawar Zalmi keeper-batter has maintained his aggressive style, with his best innings of 87 from 47 balls coming when the entire team was dismissed for 141. Haris, who has the best strike rate among top batters in PSL 2025 with over 150 runs, is the quintessential modern T20 batter and has enough experience at the highest level to take the national team forward. Arguably, the star of PSL so far. The 17-year-old fast bowler first caught the eye during the U19 Asia Cup in Dubai last year, where Raza rattled India's young batters with pace and swing to set up a one-sided win. Raza seems to have become even better in the intervening months. The Peshawar Zalmi fast bowler has a four-wicket haul in the opening stages of the league, with his rhythmic action and high release point coming in for praise. More importantly, he is already clocking 90mph even though he is still a teenager. With proper guidance, strength training and workload management, Raza could be the next big fast-bowing star of Pakistan. It looked like Pakistan cricket was ready to move on from veteran fast bowler Hasan Ali. But the 30-year-old is a transformed player this season, getting the bite back in his bowling and picking up wickets with pace and variations. He has ideal figures of 10 wickets in five matches at an economy of eight an over for Karachi Kings. And with wickets likely to become more difficult from here on, expect Hasan to return even more impressive numbers. If he keeps up this form, a ticket to the T20 World Cup next year might not be too far away. The leg-spinning all-rounder is an enigma in Pakistan. The sky seemed to be the limit when he emerged as a young attacking bowler and capable batter during their victorious run in the 2017 Champions Trophy. But a shift in focus towards batting and leadership roles saw Shadab regress as a wrist spinner. Injuries and loss of form saw his leg spin lose all its bite. But this PSL, Shadab looks like a man on a mission. He has picked up eight wickets at an economy of just six and has also captained Islamabad United to the top of the table, winning the first four matches on the bounce. He also hit a quick 47 against Karachi after picking up two wickets in the match. If Shadab's bowling has truly regained its edge, he could well become Pakistan's most valuable cricketer.