On Monday, May 3, the 11th edition of PSL concluded with Peshawar Zalmi lifting their 2nd title. The Babar Azam-led side ended their 9-year wait and deserved it, as they were the most consistent team of the tournament.
Notably, Peshawar topped the table with 17 points in 10 matches. They suffered a single defeat in the entire season. On the other hand, the rest of the teams struggled; some players, shockingly, had an underwhelming season.
The PSL is an important platform for players to impress the selectors and earn a place in the national team after impressive show in PSL 2026. On the other hand, the same platform can ruin someone’s career. Therefore, this article will shed light on five players who might not play for Pakistan again in T20Is, courtesy of their PSL 2026 performance.
PSL 2026 to go brutal on these Pakistan players
1. Mohammad Rizwan
Mohammad Rizwan was once an integral part of Pakistan’s national team and was even roped in as their T20I captain in 2024. However, the right-handed batter has been out of the scheme of things since December 2024.
The recently concluded PSL season was his best chance to return to the team, but the 33-year-old failed to impress. Notably, Mohammad Rizwan scored just 204 runs in 10 innings, averaging just 20.40.
More than the runs, Rizwan’s strike rate was just 116, which is unacceptable in modern cricket. Therefore, it seems that the right-handed batter has definitely played his last for the Men in Green in the shortest format of the game.
Rizwan was already in poor form leading up to the PSL. The underwhelming show in his own country has certainly made the job easy for selectors to look past him in T20Is. For the unversed, Rizwan captained RawalPindiz, who finished last on the table with a solitary win.
Criteria
Data
Innings
10
Runs
204
Average
20.40
Strike-Rate
116.57
100/50
0/0
(Performance in PSL 2026)
2. Haider Ali
Another big name, who had the opportunity to return to the national team, was Haider Ali. The 25-year-old has not played for Pakistan since 2023. Playing for Islamabad United, Ali had enough chances in PSL 2026 to prove his mettle.
Ali scored just 103 runs in 7 innings in PSL 2026, averaging 17.17. Out of all, Haider Ali had two golden opportunities in the season to score runs in Qualifier 1 and Eliminator. Getting runs under the belt there would have certainly got the selectors excited.
However, shedding light on the performance, he scored just 8 (5) in qualifier 1 and 31 (16) in the eliminator.
Criteria
Data
Innings
7
Runs
103
Average
17.17
Strike-Rate
132.05
100/50
0/0
(Performance in PSL 2026)
3. Mohammad Wasim Jr
The 27-year-old had an underwhelming season with Multan Sultans. The right-arm seamer picked up just seven wickets in 10 matches. Notably, even before the start of the tournament, Wasim was behind several bowlers in the pecking order for Pakistan.
PSL 2026 was a great opportunity for Wasim Jr, but the seamer squandered the chance, and now it seems that his run with the Pakistan T20I team is over. A lot of other bowlers, like Husnain Shah and Mohammad Ali, impressed in the tournament, pushing Mohammad Wasim Jr further down in the pecking order.
Criteria
Data
Innings
10
Wickets
7
Economy
10.78
Strike-Rate
28.00
3w/5w
0/0
4. Aamer Jamal
Aamer Jamal last played a T20I for Pakistan in January 2024. Since then, he has been trying to get in the team, but failed to grab the selectors’ eyeballs. PSL 2026 seemed like the final nail in the coffin for Jamal’s career as the right-arm seamer couldn’t achieve anything significant.
The 29-year-old played just five matches for Peshawar Zalmis and took just four scalps, forcing the team to replace him in the playing XI.
Criteria
Data
Innings
5
Wickets
4
Economy
10.32
Strike-Rate
17.00
3w/5w
0/0
5. Mohammad Nawaz
Mohammad Nawaz has experienced a downfall like no other star. The star all-rounder was Pakistan’s best player in T20Is in 2025, where he picked up 35 wickets and scored 362 runs with the bat. However, 2026 has been equally underwhelming.
In the T20 World Cup 2026, Mohammad Nawaz scored 15 runs in six innings and took 7 wickets in 6 innings. Now, in PSL 2026, the southpaw has just 6 wickets in 9 innings and only 54 runs with the bat.
Hence, Mohammad Nawaz has now gone through two major tournaments without a significant contribution. Also, with age not on his side, it seems that the PCB might look beyond him post PSL 2026.
Mohammad Rizwan and Mohsin Naqvi - (Source: AFP)
