Pakistan completed a T20 series win against Sri Lanka on Sunday, securing an 82-run victory in the second match of the three-game series in Rawalpindi.
New captain and opener Sahibzada Farhan hit a quick 73, his second straight fifty, and young middle order bat Maaz Sadaqat smashed 96 from 51 balls to help Pakistan post 215-3. Sri Lanka batters did not even come close, restricted to 133-7.
On paper, it is a routine result in a bilateral series well away from a T20 World Cup cycle. But for Pakistan, it was a significant milestone.
Pakistan have tried to hit the reset button in white-ball cricket for quite some time. After successive misses at ICC tournaments and a growing trend of failing to even qualify for the semi-finals, the team needed a fresh set of eyes to look at the issue.
In 2026, they have started to get more things right than wrong.
If you look at the bigger picture, Pakistan did not win any major titles – either the T20 World Cup or Asian Games.
However, they lost just four out of 15 completed matches this year and two of those losses were against double world champions India, including in the Asian Games gold medal match.
Pakistan thrashed Australia 3-0 at home ahead of the T20 World Cup and were largely competitive in the main tournament, losing to India and England (by 2 wickets).
So what has changed? For starters, Pakistan are putting more faith in T20 specialists. Farhan – top scorer at the T20 World Cup and ranked third in the world among T20 batters – was named captain for the ongoing Sri Lanka series.
There was no space for tried and tested fast-bowler Shaheen Afridi or all-rounder Salman Agha. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are almost certainly out of the T20 scheme of things for good.
The selectors and team management have backed players who live and breathe the 20-over format.
Hasan Nawaz is one such name and almost snatched the T20 Asian Games gold medal from India’s grasp with a destructive 96 in the final.
Left-arm fast bowler Salman Mirza has played more T20Is than first-class matches and should get an extended run, albeit at the age of 32, now that Pakistan seem to have had enough Afridi the T20 bowler. Mirza picked up 2-28 from three overs against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
There are many more waiting in the wings. There always have been. It was just that some players were turned into multi-format players for the sake of it, which took away precious spots in the T20 side which could have easily gone to specialists.
One can sense change in the air. Captain Farhan made it clear what he wants from his team, especially the batters.
“We have been a different T20 side in 2026 as our six-hitting ratio has improved and our batters are scoring at more than 150 [strike rate]. If we continue this way, we will end up scoring more than 200 every time,” the opener said after the Sri Lanka series win.
That is a significant statement because it is the only way successful teams operate. And also because those words came from a player who is a genuine trend setter in the country.
Farhan is one among only five batters to hits four T20 centuries in one year. Also, Farhan is the first Pakistan batter to hit a six against India’s Jasprit Bumrah – after a staggering 400 deliveries bowled by the Indian ace.
That alone broke the shackles that had gripped the minds of many Pakistan players and supporters after successive defeats against their neighbours at ICC events.
India still obviously hold the upper hand but Pakistan are beginning to believe that the gap with the world champions and other leading T20 teams is probably not as vast as it was a couple of seasons back.
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