Six Pakistan players are featuring in the ongoing 2025/26 Big Bash League, with four of them playing their maiden BBL. Here’s how they fared after the first round of fixtures.
Babar Azam (Sydney Sixers)
2 vs Perth Scorchers
9 vs Adelaide Strikers
Babar has had a forgettable start to life in the BBL, managing just 11 runs in his first two games. A five-ball two was followed by a 10-ball nine from the top of the order as the Sixers lost both games.
Shaheen Shah Afridi (Brisbane Heat)
0-43 vs Melbourne Renegades
1-49 vs Perth Scorchers
The left-arm pacer wouldn’t want to remember his BBL debut for long. He was taken off after bowling two beamers in an over after having conceded 43 runs in 2.4 overs. He was ultimately needed with the bat in a steep run chase but was dismissed for a duck as the Heat lost by 14 runs.
Afridi picked up his first BBL wicket in the game against Perth Scorchers, dismissing Finn Allen for 79 off 38. But he was expensive, conceding 49 runs in four overs. Those figures, though, look far more encouraging once one accounts for the fact that multiple catches went down off his bowling, and that the Heat chased down a mammoth 258, making the overall run rate of the game 13 an over.
Match 6, Brisbane Heat vs Perth Scorchers
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Mohammad Rizwan (Melbourne Renegades)
4 vs Brisbane Heat
Rizwan’s BBL debut came against Shaheen Afridi’s Heat, and his outing was equally disappointing. He was dismissed for a 10-ball four batting at No. 3, but Tim Seifert ultimately blazed his way to a century, helping the Renegades take the win.
Shadab Khan (Sydney Thunder)
34 and 2-36 vs Hobart Hurricanes
The spin-bowling all-rounder had a better start to the 2025/26 BBL season as compared to his aforementioned Pakistan teammates. Playing his fourth BBL season and batting at No. 6 for the Thunder, he scored a 24-ball 34 to help them post 180, before picking up two wickets for 36 runs in four overs. Thunder, however, lost on the penultimate delivery of the game.
Haris Rauf (Melbourne Stars)
2-33 vs Hobart Hurricanes
Playing in his fifth BBL season, Rauf grew into the game against the Hurricanes after conceding 0-26 in three overs. With Hobart looking for a strong finish at 151-5 in the 18th over, he dismissed Chris Jordan and Nathan Ellis on consecutive deliveries before Rishad Hossain managed to prevent a hat-trick. Hobart could manage just 158, and the Stars chased down the total in 16 overs.
Hasan Ali (Adelaide Strikers)
0-36 and 4* vs Sydney Sixers
Also making his BBL debut, Hasan came against Babar’s Sydney Sixers and returned wicketless from his four-over spell while conceding 36 runs. He was on strike with the Strikers needing five off the last over and just three wickets in the bank. A wild hoick landed safely, and he just got through to take three runs, with Luke Wood scoring two off the next ball to hand the Strikers a win.
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