Only including players under the age of 25, excluding players like Mohammad Asghar, Usama Mir etc. who have already made their mark in the PSL and Shadab Khan, Hassan Ali etc. for obvious reasons.
Closest to national selection – Sahibzada Farhan, Hussain Talat and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
All three are closer than ever to donning the Pakistan colors. In the case of Sahibzada and Talat, both of them have an entire season's performances under their belts and given Pakistan's opening woes and Mickey's hesitance to persist with Hafeez, both of them would fit into the current set-up with ease. In case of Shaheen Shah, he's a Shadab-like talent, hard to keep him out of the limelight after his explosive FC debut and U19 World Cup performances. All three of them are guaranteed performers, this edition's only a litmus test of whether or not they are ready for the international scene.
Islamabad United – Mohammad Hasnain, Rohail Nazir
Hasnain was unfortunate to miss out an U19 World Cup run, but he's lucky he's been picked by Islamabad who have a history of giving chances to youngsters. Expect Islamabad to cruise through the opposition in the early half of the tournament and give Hasnain a game or two in place of Sami. Just as talented and quick as Shaheen. Rohail Nazir might not get a game in a power-packed batting line-up, but he is definitely one of the few players from the current U19 crop who have the potential to play international cricket in future. Has a wide range of shots, good temperament too. Sometimes get too ahead of himself and ends up throwing his wicket away after solid starts, but long-term he could establish himself as the top contender for Islamabad, both region and franchise’s, wicket-keeper batsman role.
Karachi Kings – Hassan Mohsin
Hassan Mohsin's case is an unfortunate one, looked all set to make headlines following his U19 World Cup run, but a serious lack of opportunities halted his run. All credit to PTV, he made his FC debut and was fully immersed into the circuit and he's proven to be a useful all-rounder. Have my doubts over Karachi giving him a proper opportunity, but expect him to make full use of whatever chances he gets. Granted Shinwari gains full fitness, Amir-Shinwari-Mills would form the three-man pace attack, eliminating the need to experiment with Irfan Jr. Hassan should get the nod ahead of Taha and Kalhoro.
Multan Sultans – Saif Badar, Abdullah Shafiq
Big things were expected of Badar, but he's been a letdown. All style, no substance as of yet. Since Multan don't have too many emerging options to work with, expect Badar to play all the games. He's been banking on his talent for the past two years, needs to announce himself with a big knock. Shafiq was dropped from the U19 squad, should be rearing to go. Not a power hitter, more a stroke-maker. Both batsmen are top order players, pushing them any lower than 4 will be a waste. Badar more suited for the shortest format, has a fairly good shot range and better at taking the aerial route than Shafiq.
Peshawar Zalmi – Sameen Gul, Mohammad Arif, Khushdil Shah
Sameen Gul's developed really well since the U19 World Cup, his stats might not show the complete picture. Within the 135-140kmh range, can push above 140. Attacking option, won't save you runs and has one of the best back of the hand slower balls in the domestic circuit. Arif is raw and loosely in the modern-day opener mold, even if he doesn't get a game the exposure should do him a world of good and pave the way for him to break into domestic cricket. Expect Khushdil to get the most game time, most experienced of the four emerging players. Khushdil has been singlehandedly carrying FATA for the past few seasons and has improved his game this season. Mentally tougher, reads the situation well and, although struggles to fully get going at times, once he's set he can hit them long.
Quetta Gladiators – Saud Shakeel
Saud Shakeel should ideally be playing all games for Quetta, but will have to battle it out with Hassan. Like Hassan Mohsin, has had a breakthrough season for PTV. One of the better, mature batsmen in the domestic circuit currently. Has improved his fitness and has all the shots needed to accelerate. Definitely a better option than Saad Ali in T20s, if the decision does come down to the two. Also, has been surprisingly good with the ball recently. Record suggests he picks up wickets frequently with his SLAO, expect something similar to what Fakhar's capable of.
Lahore Qalandars – Raza Hassan, Salman Irshad
Raza Hassan bowling in tandem with Yasir and Narine will do his confidence and Lahore's chances a world of good in UAE. Thinking bowler, made his comeback and seemed to pick up right from where he had left off. Tried bowling a little quicker in the few matches that he played for Islamabad, would like to see him give the ball more flight and he'll trick plenty of batsmen on slow pitches. More than handy with the bat too. If Salman Irshad can live up to even half of what he's been hyped up as, he'll be good for the rest of his career. Has a slinging action, bowls in the 137-140kmh range and extracts good bounce too. Raw, but seemed better than both Haris Rauf and Irfan Jr. on the Qalandars' tour to Australia and hopefully his game and mentality has improved after playing club cricket for New South Wales.
Amad Butt, Zafar Gohar, Sohail Akhtar, Ghulam Mudassar, Umar Siddiq, Irfan Khan, Ibtisam Sheikh and Mir Hamza are definitely some other exciting players to keep a close eye on.
Jr.
