World T20: Sharjeel in contention for Pakistan spot after blistering ton in PSL

E-Paper | June 27, 2026

Opener Sharjeel Khan is on the verge of making a last minute entry into the Pakistan squad for the upcoming Asia Cup and World T20 after smashing a blistering 117 off 62 balls for Islamabad United in the third Qualifying Final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Sunday.

The flamboyant southpaw clicked just at the right time for United, smashing eight sixes and 12 fours against as his side defeated Peshawar Zalmi to reach the final of the PSL.

The left-hander also wrote his name in the history books by becoming the first centurion in the PSL and perhaps nudged Pakistan World Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi with his performance.

During post match presentation, Afridi promised that Sharjeel would be ‘rewarded’ for his fiery innings and it appears the national selectors also may have been highly impressed by the opener's knock.

Talking to APP on condition of anonymity, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said there was strong chance that Sharjeel would be drafted in the Asia Cup and T20 squads.

“Sharjeel has scored 287 runs in the PSL so far with a batting average of 31.88 and a strike rate of 151.05,” the official said when asked whether the southpaw had done enough to earn a recall.

The official said there was a ‘100 per cent possibility’ that Sharjeel would be back in Pakistan colours as selectors were already in search of a good opener.

Sharjeel last featured for Pakistan in August 2014 and has 11 ODI and three T20I caps for his country.

He said chief selector Haroon Rasheed, who is also in Dubai to monitor the performance of players, will recommend changes to the squad if necessary.

“One or two changes will definitely be made in the squad,” said the official.

He clarified, however, that there were 'no chances of Ahmed Shehzad being drafted into the World T20 squad' despite decent performances during the PSL.

Shehzad has scored 226 runs in the T20 league so far with an average of 25.11 at a strike rate of 138.65.

Islamabad United take on Quetta Gladiators in the PSL final on Tuesday — after which Pakistan will travel to Bangladesh for the Asia Cup T20 which kicks off on February 24.

The World T20 is set to be staged in India with the Super10 stage starting on March 16.

Sharjeel smashes blistering ton against Peshawar

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waleed KARACHI

Feb 22, 2016 06:07pm

Sarfaraz,sharjeel khan,khalid lateef etc have played quite well in PSL as they all are from karachi;due to their ethnic background players from karachi ,they are not selected in national team...this is a myth.....

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daada

Feb 22, 2016 06:08pm

Good! he earned a spot on the international T20 squard after his consistent performances in PSL.

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Abdullah Karim UAE

Feb 22, 2016 06:17pm

Captain Afridi wrong performance, his time is over due to overage , T2o is young and talented age 17 to 25 yrs boys not Afridi, Sharjeel did excellent job he deserve and every things has been exposed in PSL like, Hafiz, Afridi, Azhar ali, Shohaib Malik all are over aged and ready to be retired, Sharjeel, Ruman Raees and Sami , Khalid Latif should be placed in Asia cup and W/c T20. These non performers Afridi, Hafiz, Azhar, Malik should be dropped.

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German cricketer

Feb 22, 2016 06:17pm

For me the biggest success of PSL is to expose the talent of deserving players and incompetence of national selectors for everyone to see.

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kabir

Feb 22, 2016 06:17pm

Another player that needs a recall is Khalid Lateef technically much better than sohaib maqsood, umar akmal etc and looks in good nick too!!!

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Kamran

Feb 22, 2016 06:19pm

Sharjeel definitely deserves the spot. I hope the selectors act fair and select him.

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Abdul

Feb 22, 2016 06:27pm

@waleed KARACHI you sir are stupid. There are lots of Karachi players in the team.

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Muhammad

Feb 22, 2016 06:30pm

Instead of Haroon Rashid making trips to Dubai to watch out for talent, he should be watching these games on a large screen TV. Secondly someone needs to held accountable for shabby squad selection for series with the black caps, and asked the question why players such as Sharjeel, Khalid Lateef et al being ignored for so long, and Akmal's granted unlimited chances. I fear the next we see of Latif & Sharjeel playing international will be after WorldT20.

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Muhammad Shahid Karim

Feb 22, 2016 06:30pm

@waleed KARACHI .. wat abt khurram manzoor being selected ?.. cmon dude dont try and a make race issue in everything..

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Tanweer Khan

Feb 22, 2016 06:33pm

Would you not want a more consistent opener? Yes, Sharjeel has done well in PSL against relatively weak bowling than can be expected at the Asia Cup or at the World T20. Whilst he has had a couple of very good scores, out of 10 innings, 6 times he failed to score more than 10 runs. Surely, you want your opener to leave you with a better platform than that, especially at the World T20, where you will NEED to win 2 out 3 games versus India, NZ and Australia. But if he is called into the squad, let's hope he seizes his chance and delivers - as the alternatives like Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammed Hafeez don't leave you with too much confidence either. The Pak opening berth is definitely up for grabs - but nobody seems willing to make it their own. Hopefully Sharjeel can. Best of luck.

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Taimur Malik

Feb 22, 2016 06:33pm

great knock, Mohammad Sami and Sharjeel both need to be rewarded not just one...

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Aalo Ghosht

Feb 22, 2016 06:39pm

Sharjeel does not have a proper technique. He can't play balls on his off-stump. During the series against Sri Lanka, he scored well in his first innings and then Malinga and Co. figured out his technique and he failed miserably in the rest of the series. We need technically correct batsman in the team along with lines of Mohd. Yousuf or Inzamam. Amongst the current lot, only Babar Azam seems to be technically correct.

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waleed KARACHI

Feb 22, 2016 06:40pm

@Abdul what happened in worldcup???sarfaraz was taken in squad but was not being let play as waqar didnt let him play but pressure from P.M let him change the decision.

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The Outsider

Feb 22, 2016 06:43pm

Why are they basing selection on one performance? Afridi is same thing and so is Akmal. If you take away the last game, Sharjeel has a pretty poor performance. Let him do it at least 3-4 times to merit selection. Cricket is about consistency not one in a blue moon performance. If everyone is consistent even if its just 25-35 runs, then team will succeed. PK has to have the mentality of team work and not hope that 1 out 11 players will shine.

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boss

Feb 22, 2016 06:47pm

@Abdullah Karim UAE - sami is 50 years old n made 75 comebacks, get ur facts right

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Pakistani-Australian

Feb 22, 2016 06:50pm

@Muhammad do you realise that Umar Akmal was by far the best player of this tournament.

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SohailAnwar

Feb 22, 2016 06:51pm

Criteria for selecting good enough players for Pakistan from Karachi and Sind Province is different than from Punjab and others. Sad but fact.

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Fahd

Feb 22, 2016 06:53pm

@waleed KARACHI afridi was settled in karachi and he has played for pak since 1996.

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riaz

Feb 22, 2016 06:54pm

Technique and technique is necessary for opening the innings in any format...that said if has the right attitude and fitness level perhaps coaches can work with players like Sharjeel to develop.

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Feb 22, 2016 06:54pm

Disagree, he was already given lots of chances he just couldn't play in big matches. He need more time to improve

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Khan- Pakistani

Feb 22, 2016 07:02pm

Afridi should be out and Sharjeel should be in !

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Feb 22, 2016 07:17pm

...and what does Fawad Alam have to do to get selected? It is hegemony on Shoaib Malik's part that Fawad Alam despite brilliant performances in domestic cricket did not even feature in a single game in PSL for Karachi Kings,

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Yousuf47 London

Feb 22, 2016 07:26pm

Sharjeel has come to the Party with a brilliant knock of 117 runs and perhaps the first past the post as no batsman has shown an inclination to bat through the innings other than Umar Akmal. The place of old guard like Malik is perhaps in doubt and even Hafeez appear to be out of his depth.

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SIFAT NOOR

Feb 22, 2016 07:35pm

The dilemma of our nation is that whenever a player is given chance and he failed to show performance in few matches his selection becomes objectionable and start criticizing. We should give more and more chance to the same players to judge his performance and if he failed after being given repeated opportunities he should be rule out of the match.Our players who are being drafted in the squad always seem to be in pressure thinking that whether he will ditch out a big score or not and this cause his failure to hit a big score.

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Feb 22, 2016 07:38pm

he looks 10 times better than Ahmed Shehzad

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Waseem Sarwar

Feb 22, 2016 07:40pm

@waleed KARACHI , Sharjeel isn't from Karachi and there are countless players from Urdu speaking community playing for Pakistan. Infect few of them don't even deserve it like Anwar Ali and Asad Shafiq in ODIs.

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Ahmad ali Warsi

Feb 22, 2016 07:45pm

@Abdul : you have no sense of cricket, do you think Karachi getting their rights, are you knows abt cricket, Misba/waqar/Haroon/Intikhab all r from Lahore and they cheating to PCB chairman, who have no knowledge cricket, do you know how much these above from Lahore taking salary waqar US$16K, Naila Bhatti Dtr Marketing simple graduate getting high salary from Lahore, bcs they ruled Karachi, did Azhar ali performed ? is he captain material NO, have no cricket knowledge, he was dropped from ODI and test 2013 after junk in 2 yrs suddenly he become captain and lost all series except he win third class team like ZAMB /SL Azhar belong to Lahore, please ask Haroon Rashid to choose from Karachi on merit. did you see what Azhar did to Qalander first round OUT ? Is he from Lahore or not ? we are asking right man for right jobs like Fawad Alam, Sarfarz, Anwer ali are deserve to be captain of T20 and ODI. Do not talk about province basis talk on merit.

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Junaid ali KSA

Feb 22, 2016 07:54pm

@Muhammad Shahid Karim: For the sack of God use word merit, Khurram Mazoor look his record in domestic cricket comparing, your three selected on the basis of race Azhr, Ahmad Shazad, Akmal how many chances they got why mistreating Khurram he is right choice on the basis of merit and performance not on parchi, like Azhar, Malik, Shahzad, Akmal all are rusty player, I invite you to come and see Khurram record. Chief selector should Iqbal Qasim he was one of the best bowler, coach, ex-NBP sport director, his qualification is 100 time better than Haroon Rashid, but he is from Karachi.

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Alien

Feb 22, 2016 08:05pm

Thats way i like PSL ...... Good place to find talent ..........

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AD (Canada)

Feb 22, 2016 08:36pm

Never seen a better innings from anyone for a long time. Sharjeel deserves a spot in the world T20. Hope he gets it and does good there. Good luck young lad.

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Pakfan

Feb 22, 2016 08:39pm

It is a no brainer. Sharjeel is number one choice to open the innings for national squad.

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Cricketfan

Feb 22, 2016 08:41pm

One knock is not enough to judge his capabitlities. But I think I'll pick him up above Ahmed Shehzad.

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A Ali

Feb 22, 2016 08:45pm

except Sharjeel's option rest is all not up to mark and frankly other 3 have no talent to shine at international level....

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A Ali

Feb 22, 2016 08:45pm

@waleed KARACHI - people like you flame regional and ethnic division.

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AD (Canada)

Feb 22, 2016 08:48pm

@Pakistani-Australian Surely he scored the most runs but that does not make him the best player. He could have done that in 2 good innings out of ten. Was he consistent. That is more important being the best player.

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Radiohead

Feb 22, 2016 08:58pm

@waleed KARACHI Don't forget brilliant Mohammad Sami and Fawad Alam.

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waleed KARACHI

Feb 22, 2016 09:16pm

@Radiohead fawad alam never given the fair chance even in his last matches,he scored 100 but still he has been launched in the PSL,but sitting in pavilion...

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waleed KARACHI

Feb 22, 2016 09:16pm

@A Ali work for the justice rather than fight against those who deserve justice....

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waleed KARACHI

Feb 22, 2016 09:17pm

@Waseem Sarwar he is from hyderabad,i know...

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Sarwar Dadabhai

Feb 22, 2016 09:22pm

@Waseem Sarwar : Sharjeel is Pakistani stop further taking, why you worry about countless players from Karachi. Is Karachi is not part of Pakistan, generating 75% revenue deserve more share of 2.5 crores population, suffering from your hand, not getting his right. You say Anwar ali, Asad Shafiq not deserve in ODI ? you should be selector do you select Azhar ali as captain of ODI ? does he deserve ? Malik, Ahmad Shazad, Akmal brothers , Haroon Rashid, Waqar Yunus, Intikhab (Baba-e-Azam age 81 yrs) you can not Digest two qualified players from Karachi giving us above named non performer. be sense think on merit Waqar is not certified and qualified coach, looks rank from 2 to 7 in ODI/T20, Azhar ali not captain material what happen ODI and presently main part of “sunken ship of Qalander ?

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Tanweer Khan

Feb 22, 2016 09:36pm

@AD (Canada) In that case @Pakistani-Australian is correct. Umar Akmal scored 335 runs in PSL at an average of 83.75. Sharjeel scored 287 runs at 31.89. Sharjeel's match winning rate (more than 50 runs) was 20% (2 out of 10). Umar did it 4 times out of 7 (57%). Sharjeel's failure rate (below 20 runs) was 60%. In fact, he failed to get past 10 runs in 6 out of 10 innings (and 3 times he failed to get past even 5 runs). Umar's lowest score was 19 (failure rate = 14.3%). So using the point around consistency, without any shadow of a doubt Umar Akmal was the more consistent player.

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Tanweer Khan

Feb 22, 2016 09:42pm

Sadly for Umar Akmal - the rest of his team Lahore Qalanders team mates decided not to perform. That is pretty much also what happened to Ravi Bopara for the Karachi Kings.

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Pakistani

Feb 22, 2016 09:52pm

Sharjeel is indeed a great player. But spot in the side should not be granted with just single blistering performance of any player. Consistency matters a lot, which is already lacking in Pakistan Team's players.

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Pak Cricket Fan

Feb 22, 2016 09:55pm

T/20 Asia Cup/World Cup 1. Sarfraz Ahmed 2. Sarjeel Khan 3. Mohamed Hafeez 4. Barber Azam 5. Shoaib Malik 6. Umar Akmal 7. Shahid Afridi 8. Mohammad Nawaz 9. Wahab Riaz/Imad Wasim 10. Mohammed Amir 11. Mohammed irfan/Anwar Ali

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Radiohead

Feb 22, 2016 09:56pm

@Waseem Sarwar Anwar Ali is from Swat.

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Shakil USA

Feb 22, 2016 10:27pm

PSL exposure of deserving players and talent. Sharjeel, Ruman Raees and Khalid Latif should recall for Asian and world t20/ODI and none performer Afridi, Hfeez and Azhar should be dropped off. And considering incompetence of national selectors we all to witness.

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Mustafa

Feb 22, 2016 10:29pm

Sharjeel ton was a luck factor.With his flawed batting technique he cant be consistent and will be an easy pray for bowlers.

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Radiohead

Feb 22, 2016 10:52pm

@Tanweer Khan Please let Akmal open and then see how these numbers change.

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Omar

Feb 23, 2016 03:23am

Has was exposed for his weak footwork against Sri Lanka where he miserably failed. He has NO CHANCE against quality pacers who move ball in the air and off seam.He has only one stroke in the book which is a "swat" on the leg side. However when players like Haffez are in the team then we can definitely add mediocre players like Sharjeel in the team too.

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Omar

Feb 23, 2016 03:31am

IF you take our Sharjeel's century score in the last match , he scored 10 runs or less in 6 out of 10 matches in the PSL. So, the chance of him failing is 60%. How does that justify his inclusion.

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Tanweer Khan

Feb 23, 2016 03:15pm

@Radiohead The question posed by @AD (Canada) in reply to @Pakistani Australian was who has been more consistent in the PSL (Umar Akmal or Sharjeel Khan)? My response to that was that not only has UA scored more runs in total than SK, he has a higher average in the PSL too. And more importantly, UA has been dependable each time he has gone out to bat in the PSL. The same cannot be said about SK - each time he goes out to bat, there is a 60% chance that he'll score less than 10 runs. So he is not as statistically 'reliable' as UA. Your point about letting Akmal open is totally hypothetical, as we are unable to conduct the 'experiment' of getting Akmal to open the batting in a tournament that has effectively ended for his team. All we can do is analyse the facts that we already know. And those facts conclusively point to Umar Akmal being far more consistent than Sharjeel. Note: I am not saying UA is better than SK, just saying he has been more consistent in the PSL 2016.

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