Muhammad Irfan Khan to lead Pakistan Shaheens in Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025

[MenInG]

Muhammad Irfan Khan will lead Pakistan Shaheens in the eight-team Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025 tournament, which will take place in Qatar from 14 to 23 November. Pakistan Shaheens are placed in Group ‘B’ alongside Oman, India ‘A’ and UAE, while Afghanistan ‘A’, Bangladesh ‘A’, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka ‘A’ are placed in Group ‘A’.

Pakistan will play their opening match of the T20 tournament against Oman on Friday, 14 November, before taking on India ‘A’ on Sunday, 16 November. Shaheens’ final group match will be against UAE on Tuesday, 18 November.

As per the tournament format, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held on 21 November. The final of the tournament will take place on Sunday, 23 November.

All matches will be staged at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha.

Before the team’s departure on 12 November, Pakistan Shaheens will undergo a training camp from 8 to 11 November at Hanif Muhammad High Performance Centre in Karachi.

15-member squad:

Muhammad Irfan Khan (captain), Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Faiq, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Mohammad Naeem, Mohammad Salman, Mohammad Shahzad, Mubasir Khan, Saad Masood, Shahid Aziz, Sufiyan Moqim, Ubaid Shah and Yasir Khan

Shaheens fixtures in Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars

Group B

v Oman – 14 November, West End Park International Cricket Stadium
v India ‘A’ – 16 November, West End Park International Cricket Stadium
v UAE – 18 November, West End Park International Cricket Stadium

 

[Sunny_majoka]

Should have included hassan Nawaz and give him proper chance at 3/4 to get his confidence back.

 

[RyanRyan10]

This team will win the tournament

 

[RidiculousMan]

Should have included hassan Nawaz and give him proper chance at 3/4 to get his confidence back.

They want to destroy that talent.

 

[amvbfm]

Decent squad but perhaps too many allrounders. Could have included Faisal Akram who is unlikely to get a game given the preference for TTFs in the national team. Also, i could be wrong but from what little i have seen of him Ghazi doesn't look fit for T20s. Rohail, if available, might have been a better pick.

 

[Rana]

Pace bowling looks terrible

Shahid Aziz
Ubaid Shah
Mohammad Shahzad
Ahmed Daniyal


All 130-140kmh bowlers

Should have picked Akif Javed or Ali Raza to add some proper pace.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Pace bowling looks terrible

Shahid Aziz
Ubaid Shah
Mohammad Shahzad
Ahmed Daniyal


All 130-140kmh bowlers

Should have picked Akif Javed or Ali Raza to add some proper pace.

Shahid Aziz and Mohammad Shahzad aren't even fast-bowlers

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Fast bowling look very thin.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Atleast the squad is pretty much U23 apart from Muhammad Faiq so that’s a positive.

 

[Aami]

Pace bowling looks terrible

Shahid Aziz
Ubaid Shah
Mohammad Shahzad
Ahmed Daniyal


All 130-140kmh bowlers

Should have picked Akif Javed or Ali Raza to add some proper pace.

Whatever happened to Akif? Is he injured? He was quite pacy.

 

[Rana]

Whatever happened to Akif? Is he injured? He was quite pacy.

forgotten, out of favour. Nothing else.

 

[Rana]

Shahid Aziz and Mohammad Shahzad aren't even fast-bowlers

Even Ubaid Shah. He's easy pickings like his brother.

 

[Aami]

forgotten, out of favour. Nothing else.

Typical, nothing new.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Even Ubaid Shah. He's easy pickings like his brother.

He's very raw but atleast he has pace

 

[shamaan]

Atleast the squad is pretty much U23 apart from Muhammad Faiq so that’s a positive.

No thiers more than Faiq who are over 23.

 

[shamaan]

Pakistan strength is Mubasir and Arafat Minhas.

Pakistan weakness is thier fast bowling.

 

[shamaan]

Ali Raza and Akif Javed should have been in the squad.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Pace bowling looks terrible

Shahid Aziz
Ubaid Shah
Mohammad Shahzad
Ahmed Daniyal


All 130-140kmh bowlers

Should have picked Akif Javed or Ali Raza to add some proper pace.

Pretty sure Ali Raza is injured as he is not even domestic right now.

Maybe Akif Javed should be there but I believe he is just coming off an injury and he is better off playing in FC than playing in an emerging tournament. He's a good talent but needs to clean up his bowling action a bit and fix his line/length issue as he has a tendency to be super leaky.

 

[Bewal Express]

He's very raw but atleast he has pace

Quick but boy does he also bowl some rubbish. Weirdly I think he needs some games for the PK team against Zimbabwe etc and be forced to improve his control

 

[BouncerGuy]

Akif Javed is missing and he has been discarded like he never existed.... Ali raza has a broken finger so he is out of the question...

Our squad is so thin on pace attack.

 

[amvbfm]

Shahid Aziz and Mohammad Shahzad aren't even fast-bowlers

Shahid has decent pace. Also the pace department isn’t too bad with Ubaid, Salman and Daniyal. If fit, Ali Raza would’ve been an automatic selection. Akif is perhaps the only possible change we could have made but maybe he is not fit or in form. The focus seems to be on allrounders with as many as 5 of them in the squad. I hope they play Faisal Akram today now that they have excluded him from this tournament.

 

[PakPremi]

I heard the wicketkeeper Ghori is not very good in batting

 

[BouncerGuy]

Pakistan Shaheens, led by Mohammad Irfan Khan, depart from Karachi to Doha for the Rising Stars Asia Cup.

The eight-nation T20 tournament kicks off on November 14. Pakistan Shaheens are placed in Group B.

Their opening match is scheduled against Oman on November 14.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Akif's pace was dropping after his first spell and from match to match the last time he played for Pakistan in the New Zealand series.

I don't think he has been able to correct that jump of his.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Pace bowling looks terrible

Shahid Aziz
Ubaid Shah
Mohammad Shahzad
Ahmed Daniyal


All 130-140kmh bowlers

Should have picked Akif Javed or Ali Raza to add some proper pace.

Only Ubaid Shah is okay. Though he is not tall either

 

[Shaka81]

Only Ubaid Shah is okay. Though he is not tall either

Salman Mirza is in the squad as well and he's looked pretty good so far in his international career.

 

[hassan918]

Pakistan have a pretty good squad. They should do well in this tournament.

 

[msb314]

Need to boycott this rubbish tournament

 

[BouncerGuy]

Salman Mirza is in the squad as well and he's looked pretty good so far in his international career.

Salman Mirza is not in the squad...

 

[Shaka81]

Salman Mirza is not in the squad...

He is when you check Cricinfo. For some reason he's been called Mohammad Salman in the first post.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

He is when you check Cricinfo. For some reason he's been called Mohammad Salman in the first post.

That’s 20 year old M.Salman which is from Lahore.

 

[BouncerGuy]

He is when you check Cricinfo. For some reason he's been called Mohammad Salman in the first post.

Mohammad Salman is another player... You are confusing him with Salman mirza

 

[Shaka81]

There seems to be lots of Mohammad Salman but Cricinfo are showing Salman Mirza which makes more sense then any of the others including the one from Lahore who hasn't really done much to deserve selection at this point.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Pakistan Shaheens ready to face Oman in Men's Rising Stars Asia Cup opener on Friday

Pakistan Shaheens are set for Men’s Rising Stars Asia Cup challenge as they take on Oman in the opening match of the T20 tournament on 14 November. The eight-team competition will be played at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha.

Pakistan Shaheens led by Muhammad Irfan Khan are placed in Group B alongside Oman, India ‘A’ and UAE. Group A comprises Afghanistan ‘A’, Bangladesh ‘A’, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka ‘A’.

After their opening match against Oman, Pakistan Shaheens will face India ‘A’ on Sunday, 16 November, before playing their final group fixture against UAE on Tuesday, 18 November.

According to the tournament format, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals on 21 November, while the final is scheduled for Sunday, 23 November.

Before the team’s departure on 12 November, Pakistan Shaheens underwent a four-day training camp at the Hanif Muhammad High Performance Centre in Karachi from 8 to 11 November. The squad also held their first training session in Doha earlier today to fine-tune preparations ahead of the event.

Talking to PCB Digital ahead of the opening game, Ijaz Ahmed Jnr, head coach of Pakistan Shaheens said:

“Our camp in Karachi went very well where the players were fully focused, disciplined and the sessions were well-structured. Before arriving in Doha, we observed the local conditions and noted that the pitches here tend to play a little low, so we defined clear roles for each player and worked on specific game plans accordingly.

“Today was our first training session in Doha and the practice wickets are quite similar to the main pitch. We are preparing according to our strengths, focusing on consistent bowling lines and lengths and on smart shot selection in batting. The boys have shown great energy and positive intent.

“We face Oman tomorrow and in T20 cricket no team can be taken lightly. Our plans are based on detailed analysis and the players are mentally prepared and confident. We will stick to our strengths and play positive cricket throughout the tournament.”

15-member squad:

Muhammad Irfan Khan (captain), Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Faiq, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Mohammad Naeem, Mohammad Salman, Mohammad Shahzad, Mubasir Khan, Saad Masood, Shahid Aziz, Sufiyan Moqim, Ubaid Shah and Yasir Khan

Shaheens fixtures in Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars:

v Oman – 14 November, West End Park International Cricket Stadium

v India ‘A’ – 16 November, West End Park International Cricket Stadium

v UAE – 18 November, West End Park International Cricket Stadium

PCB

 

[Omer2002]

I believe Sony Liv are showing this in India.Hoping asian council are showing in UK

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Who will win this tournament....?

 

[The Bald Eagle]

What a brilliant catch from Irfan Khan Niazi, in the match against UAE. Superman catch

 

[Mohraheem]

Good to see no Misbah’s son

 

[Earth87]

Did Anyone Notice Irfan Khan Niazi His Style (DEKHAN)..sounds like Imran Khan

 

[moghul]

Not impressed with his captaincy , first he sent some lower order batter aheas of him in the final and then batter poorly. His bowling changes were poor also . He persisted with Aziz in the death overs after he bowled poorly and in next over almost lost the match but concedding 3 sixes.

 

[Earth87]

Not impressed with his captaincy , first he sent some lower order batter aheas of him in the final and then batter poorly. His bowling changes were poor also . He persisted with Aziz in the death overs after he bowled poorly and in next over almost lost the match but concedding 3 sixes.

you arent reasonable... criticizing.. useless criticism, he is attacking and clever captain.. he knows what he doing.. in those condition, finish muqeem to get important wicket... Next In Line to captain Paksitan Team... though he need to up his batting performance..

 

[mon858]

Another decent captain that fails on primary duty of batting. His innings today could have cost the final.

 

[Major]

His decision making is good, but he lacks leadership skills. I didnt like how after every ball he tends to shout at his players. Be it the keeper or the bowler. Guy needs to calm down.

 

[mon858]

His decision making is good, but he lacks leadership skills. I didnt like how after every ball he tends to shout at his players. Be it the keeper or the bowler. Guy needs to calm down.

I didnt see as much shouting. He seemed to be talking to bowlers and fielders which is okay.
Not sure if you remember early years Sarfraz, that was shouting

 

[coooolali]

Don't think Irfan is a good captain at all. Arafat and Maaz bowled 4 overs and gave away just 12 runs and took 3 wickets. I feel they both deserved to finish their spells. If they had match would not have gone to super over. He did the same thing in semis. He did not give a single over to maaz or arafat when maaz was exceptional with the ball throughout the tournament.

 

[TheSultan]

We won in spite of irfan, not because of him. He reeks of another dumbo captain

 

[moghul]

We won in spite of irfan, not because of him. He reeks of another dumbo captain

Agree.

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

We won in spite of irfan, not because of him. He reeks of another dumbo captain

Exactly!

Marshalling your resources to defend a sub par score of 125 (about a run-a-ball) in a final should be a piece of cake!

 

[TheSultan]

Exactly!

Marshalling your resources to defend a sub par score of 125 (about a run-a-ball) in a final should be a piece of cake!

To allow the tailenders to get from 53-7 to level scores can only be masterminded by a dumbo

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

To allow the tailenders to get from 53-7 to level scores can only be masterminded by a dumbo

You’re right, because the opposition having their own good moments and luck can never ever happen in a competitive sport.

 

[TheSultan]

You’re right, because the opposition having their own good moments and luck can never ever happen in a competitive sport.

Yes of course, to bowl a bowler who has already got tonked and continue to be one of only 3 bowlers to complete their quota is excellent captaincy.

It’s also a sign of genius that one of the bowlers who took 2-5 in 2 overs was never brought back.

 

[shamaan]

Match ups are overrated bowl your best bowler at that particular time.