Cricket · Player guide
Pakistan cricket team players
A cricket team is a collection of different skills: the opener facing a fresh ball, the keeper reading every delivery and the bowler searching for a breakthrough. Meet 13 familiar names from Pakistan men’s international cricket and understand the roles they bring to the game.
This guide covers selected players from Pakistan’s wider men’s cricket pool across formats. Selection, captaincy and fitness can change between series; these profiles are not a confirmed squad or a playing XI. Birth details come from PCB profiles, with historical highlights linked to ICC reports.
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Player 01
Babar Azam
- Born
- 15 October 1994 · Lahore
- Role
- Batter
- Playing style
- Right-handed
Batting is Babar’s primary role. His profile is a useful starting point for fans learning about Pakistan’s specialist batters and the difference between building a long innings and setting a tempo in limited-overs cricket.
Career highlight: He won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year 2022 and the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year 2022 award. ICC report.
Player 02
Mohammad Rizwan
- Born
- 1 June 1992 · Peshawar
- Role
- Wicketkeeper-batter
- Playing style
- Right-handed
Rizwan combines batting with wicketkeeping. Following a keeper means watching two jobs: the innings with the bat and the work behind the stumps. Catches, stumpings and clean collection matter alongside the runs on the scoreboard.
Career highlight: The ICC named him Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2021. He scored 1,326 T20I runs in 29 matches during that calendar year. ICC report.
Player 03
Fakhar Zaman
- Born
- 10 April 1990 · Mardan
- Role
- Opening batter
- Playing style
- Left-handed
Fakhar is an opening option in Pakistan’s batting group. An opener faces the new ball and the field restrictions at the beginning of a limited-overs innings. His left-handed stance also offers a different angle from right-handed batting partners.
Career highlight: He made 114 from 106 balls against India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, helping Pakistan reach 338 for four. ICC report.
Player 04
Saim Ayub
- Born
- 24 May 2002
- Role
- Opening batter
- Playing style
- Left-handed; right-arm off-spin
Saim’s PCB record traces a pathway through Pakistan’s under-16 and under-19 teams to the senior side. He bats left-handed and also bowls off-spin, giving fans a player to follow with both bat and ball. His position and bowling workload depend on the selected team.
Player 05
Abdullah Shafique
- Born
- 20 November 1999 · Sialkot
- Role
- Top-order batter
- Playing style
- Right-handed
Abdullah’s PCB profile includes Pakistan Under-19s and the senior national team. For a top-order batter, the opening passages of an innings are especially revealing: watch judgement outside off stump, defensive decisions and how singles keep a partnership moving.
Player 06
Saud Shakeel
- Born
- 5 September 1995 · Karachi
- Role
- Middle-order batter
- Playing style
- Left-handed; occasional left-arm orthodox spin
Saud offers a left-handed option in the batting group. His official record includes Pakistan Under-19s, Pakistan A and the senior team. Middle-order batting often involves responding to the platform left by the top order, whether that means rebuilding after wickets or extending a strong start.
Player 07
Shan Masood
- Born
- 14 October 1989 · Kuwait
- Role
- Top-order batter
- Playing style
- Left-handed
Shan is another left-handed batter in Pakistan’s wider player pool. His birthplace is Kuwait, as recorded by the PCB. When assessing a top-order innings, consider the conditions and the quality of the bowling rather than relying only on the final run total.
Player 08
Salman Ali Agha
- Born
- 23 November 1993 · Lahore
- Role
- Batting all-rounder
- Playing style
- Right-handed; right-arm off-spin
Salman combines right-handed batting with off-spin. An all-rounder can help a side balance its batting and bowling resources, although the exact workload changes by format and match situation. Watch both his innings and how the captain uses his overs.
Player 09
Shadab Khan
- Born
- 4 October 1998 · Mianwali
- Role
- Spin-bowling all-rounder
- Playing style
- Right-handed; right-arm leg-spin
Shadab contributes leg-spin and right-handed batting. Leg-spin offers a different turning direction from off-spin, while an all-rounder’s batting gives the team another option lower in the order. His PCB profile also records appearances for Pakistan Under-19s and Pakistan A.
Player 10
Shaheen Shah Afridi
- Born
- 6 April 2000 · Khyber Agency
- Role
- Fast bowler
- Playing style
- Left-arm pace; left-handed batting
Shaheen’s left-arm bowling creates a different release angle from Pakistan’s right-arm seamers. For a pace bowler, the new-ball spell and later spells can involve very different plans. Follow line, length and the field alongside the speed of each delivery.
Career highlight: He won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year 2021 after taking 78 wickets in 36 internationals that year. ICC report.
Player 11
Naseem Shah
- Born
- 15 February 2003
- Role
- Fast bowler
- Playing style
- Right-arm fast-medium; right-handed batting
Naseem’s PCB profile lists appearances for Pakistan’s under-16, under-19 and senior teams. He bowls right-arm fast-medium. A useful way to follow a seamer is to watch whether consecutive deliveries repeat a length or change it to test a batter’s judgement.
Player 12
Haris Rauf
- Born
- 7 November 1993 · Rawalpindi
- Role
- Fast bowler
- Playing style
- Right-arm pace; right-handed batting
Haris adds another right-arm pace option. The PCB records his bowling as fast-medium, while the ICC profile uses right-arm fast. Those labels describe the same broad seam-bowling role; match conditions and the phase of an innings shape the plan he is asked to execute.
Player 13
Abrar Ahmed
- Born
- 11 September 1998 · Karachi
- Role
- Spin bowler
- Playing style
- Right-arm leg-spin and googly; right-handed batting
Abrar’s ICC profile describes his bowling as leg break googly. A spinner’s variations are easier to appreciate when you watch the batter’s response: whether the ball is defended, swept or attacked down the pitch, and how the field changes afterwards.
Career highlight: On his Test debut against England in Multan in December 2022, he took seven for 114 in the first innings. ICC report.
How the roles fit together
Opening and top-order batters begin an innings; the middle order responds to the situation they inherit. A wicketkeeper handles the work behind the stumps while also taking a place in the batting order. All-rounders offer skills in both disciplines, and specialist bowlers bring pace or spin.
Those roles help explain selection, but they do not guarantee a place. Test cricket, ODIs and T20Is ask different questions of a team. To find who is playing in a particular series, check a dated squad announcement from the Pakistan Cricket Board and the match-day team announcement.
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