The 2026 Pakistan Super League season came to an end on Sunday (May 3), as Peshawar Zalmi won their second title. Here are five players that enjoyed breakout seasons this year.
Sufiyan Muqeem (Peshawar Zalmi)
11 matches | 22 wickets | Avg 14.40 | ER 7.20 | BBI 4-32
The 23-year-old left-arm wrist spinner was part of the Pakistan setup until he was dropped following the 2025 Asia Cup, as Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq became the team management's first-choice T20 spinners. This PSL season, Abrar and Usman took a combined 18 wickets in 10 matches. Muqeem alone took 22 in 11.
Read more: Sufiyan Muqeem, Pakistan's newest record-breaker, is a bowler like no other
This was his first full season in the PSL; between 2023 and 2025, Muqeem played just eight games for Zalmi after he was drafted as an emerging player. After going wicketless in game one, Muqeem took a wicket in each of the ten matches that followed, including restrictive spells of 2-25 and 1-23 in the knockouts as Peshawar won their first title since 2017. He took home the Maroon Cap as well.
Hunain Shah (Hyderabad Kingsmen)
10 matches | 17 wickets | Avg 18.41 | ER 8.57 | BBI 4-22
The middle child among three fast-bowling brothers, 2026 was finally Hunain's time to shine (he did play 10 times for Islamabad United in 2024, but had an average season with eight wickets). Elder brother Naseem's exploits in the PSL and internationally are well-known, while younger brother Ubaid has long been touted as a talent to watch – Lahore Qalandars owner Sameen Rana even called him the team's "best pick of the auction" this year.
Hunain's spell of 3-19 against Karachi Kings went in vain as Hyderabad lost their first four games of the season, but his 3-18 against Rawalpindiz helped earn the side's first win. He took 4-22 against the same opposition later in the competition, and held his nerve to defend six runs in the final over of Eliminator 2 to put the Kingsmen in the final. Skipper Marnus Labuschagne was also effusive in his praise of the 23-year-old ahead of the final.
Sameer Minhas (Islamabad United)
11 matches | 349 runs | Avg 38.77 | SR 155.80 | HS 82*
Teenage opening batter Sameer Minhas made waves last year with his exploits for Pakistan U19. He was the talk of the town in the first half of this PSL season, after back-to-back scores of 82* and 70 against Quetta Gladiators and Rawalpindiz; the former boasted an attack comprising Alzarri Joseph, Usman Tariq and Abrar Ahmed.
While Minhas did not quite maintain the same consistency over the second half of the campaign, he certainly had his moments; 58 (36) helped Islamabad chase 151 against Karachi Kings in quick time, while his 44 off 23 in the Qualifier was the only real individual contribution of note in that innings. He handled high pace and short-pitched bowling with aplomb, even if his spin-hitting could do with a bit of work. Either way, it was a highly commendable season for someone with just two T20s under his belt beforehand. The only way is up.
Arafat Minhas (Multan Sultans)
11 matches | 144 runs | Bat Avg 18.00 | SR 169.41 | HS 31 | 9 wickets | Bowl Avg 25.00 | ER 8.65 | BBI 3-32
Sameer's elder brother Arafat played four times for the Karachi Kings across the last two PSL seasons, scoring 11 runs and recording figures of 1-61 across eight overs. This season, two things changed – he got an extended run in the team, and he began to show glimpses of the all-round potential that has always bubbled under the surface.
He shone with the bat first, playing knocks of 25 (11), 26* (11) and 25 (11) from No.6 in Multan's first three matches of the season. His left-arm spin then came into play; Minhas chipped in with seven wickets in the following four games – Hasan Nawaz, Rilee Rossouw, Mohammad Rizwan, Jason Roy and Salman Ali Agha all ended up in his pocket. Minhas rounded off the campaign with his highest score in Multan's penultimate game, 31 off 19 against Islamabad United.
He can also claim bragging rights within the family. Across the two Islamabad-Multan games, Arafat totalled 56 (30), and Sameer 29 (25).
Maaz Sadaqat (Hyderabad Kingsmen)
12 matches | 260 runs | Avg 23.63 | SR 178.08 | HS 64*
Sadaqat announced himself as a teenager in last year's PSL with a match-winning half-century for Peshawar Zalmi, batting alongside Babar Azam. Somewhat reminiscent of his fellow Hyderabad and Pakistan opening batter Saim Ayub, the 20-year-old left-hander enjoyed a solid first full season in the league this year.
A few may scoff at an average barely touching 24, particularly for an opener, but perhaps more instructive is his strike rate; Sadaqat either scored quickly, or made sure he did not waste balls. His two half-centuries this year were 62 off 26 as Hyderabad posted 225 against Multan, and an unbeaten 64 off 33 in a chase of 160 against the same opposition in Eliminator 2. His occasional single-digit scores rightly did not bother the Hyderabad team; this is a volatile format, and one does not want batters to go into their shell. Rishabh Pant, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Vishen Halambage, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hazratullah Zazai are the only batters aged 20 or under to score more runs at a better strike rate in a single T20 season – only Sooryavanshi and Zazai have done it in a franchise competition like Sadaqat has.
He has already played three ODIs for Pakistan, and more involvement across formats should be expected.
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