Sufiyan Muqeem and Usman Khan were top-performers in PSL 2026 [Source: AP]The PSL 2026 ended with Peshawar Zalmi ending their decade-long trophy drought to win their second title, defeating the first-time finalists, Hyderabad Kingsmen by 5 wickets. After over a month of league, the Babar Azam-led outfit completely dominated the proceedings, losing only one league match before entering the playoffs and running over the opposition. On the other hand, another special story was Hyderabad Kingsmen’s comeback from 4 losses to begin their first-ever season. Throughout the season, there were many notable performances from players across the tournament roster. Right from Babar Azam’s two centuries to end the tournament as the leading scorer to Sufiyan Muqeem’s heroics with the ball. As the first-ever 8-team PSL season concludes, we take a look at the stars who could play for Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2028, to be played in Australia and New Zealand. 5 Pakistan stars who can play T20 World Cup 2028 after PSL 2026: 1. Babar Azam Proving all the doubters wrong in PSL 2026, Babar Azam was among the best batters of the competition, as he fell just 12 runs short of the 600-run landmark as the leading run-getter. He scored three fifties and two hundreds in Peshawar Zalmi’s second PSL title win. Batting at the top of the order, he served a silent reminder that he remains one of the best batters in the country, if he is used optimally, contrary to the number 4 role in the recent T20 World Cup. He finished with 588 runs in 11 innings, averaging 73.5, striking at 145.90. Also Read: PSL 2026 Performers Mohsin Naqvi-Led PCB To Pick In Pakistan's T20I Squad2. Sufiyan Muqeem Over the past year, despite making a mark in white-ball cricket, Sufiyan Muqeem was an understudy to the likes of Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq in the T20I squad. He also missed the recent T20 World Cup 2024 in favourable conditions. While the pitches in Australia and New Zealand favours seamers, Sufiyan Muqeem has made a case for himself to be picked over the other two for the foreseeable future after 22 wickets in 11 innings at an economy rate of just 7.2 runs per over and the best figures of 4/32. Additionally, he also won the Player of the Tournament, which brings more eyeballs. 3. Sameer Minhas Yet to make his T20I debut, Sameer Minhas played his first-ever PSL season this year, representing Islamabad United. At just 19, he grabbed a lot of attention with a blistering start to the season, scoring 82*(48) against the Quetta Gladiators. Furthermore, he went on to score two more fifties in the competition and ended with 349 runs at a strike rate of 155.80. He was Islamabad United’s leading run-scorer in their run to the Eliminator 2 and also has strong U19 credentials. He could soon receive his maiden Pakistan call-up as well. 4. Usman Khan Arguably, one of the biggest reasons Hyderabad Kingsmen reached the final of PSL 2026 was Usman Khan’s blistering batting in the middle order. In the last six matches of the season, he scored a century and three fifties and did the heavy-lifting for his team after they had lost 4/4 to begin the season. He finished the season with 389 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 162.76 as the leading scorer for the Kingsmen. He was the fourth-highest scorer of the season, while being the only non-top-3 player in the top-5. 5. Hunain Shah Considering the Australian and New Zealand conditions, Hunain Shah looks like a perfect fit, who could be heading to the T20 World Cup after this season with Hyderabad Kingsmen. Despite controversies around brother Naseem, he kept his head down and led his team to the final with 17 scalps in 10 innings at an economy rate of 8.36. While being the third-highest wicket-taker, Hunain Shah was also the POTM in Eliminator 2 after defending 6 runs in the final over, as the Kingsmen won by 2 runs. Honourable mentions: Maaz Sadaqat, Ali Raza, Mohammad BasitAlso Read: Fact Check- Did Babar Azam Just Get ₹1200 For Winning PSL Player Of The Tournament?
