USA have drafted globetrotting T20 allrounder Hassan Khan into their squad for the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series against UAE and Namibia, handing the former Pakistan U19 captain the opportunity to finally wear an international cap nearly a decade after he was tipped for bigger things in the country of his birth.
Khan replaces fast bowler Ali Khan, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. The left-arm spinning allrounder turns 28 on October 16 and arrives into the USA set-up after a remarkable reinvention that has transformed him from an overlooked Pakistan prospect into one of the most sought-after allrounders on the T20 franchise circuit.
Khan captained Pakistan at the 2018 U19 World Cup, leading a side that included future Pakistan internationals Shaheen Shah Afridi and Musa Khan. Eight years later, while several of his contemporaries went on to represent Pakistan, Khan’s own first taste of senior international cricket is now set to arrive in USA colours.
In many ways, the United States is where Khan found the second act of his career. He arrived in American cricket after reaching something of a dead end back home. Once regarded among Pakistan’s brightest young allrounders, opportunities had gradually dried up. After featuring sporadically in the Pakistan Super League following his initial breakthrough, Khan went unpicked in the PSL draft for successive seasons and eventually looked towards the USA for greener pastures.
Khan announced himself immediately during the 2024 Major League Cricket season with San Francisco Unicorns. In nine matches, he scored 204 runs at an average of 40.80 while striking at 143.66 and also picked up 10 wickets at 17.36. He was the only player in the tournament to combine more than 200 runs with double-digit wickets and was named MLC’s Domestic Player of the Year.
What stood out was Khan’s ability to walk in down the order and find the boundary almost immediately. Khan had suddenly developed one of the most valuable commodities in T20 cricket, fearless and clean ball-striking from word go. He backed up his breakout year with an even more explosive 2025 campaign. Khan hammered 225 runs at a strike rate of 187.50 for the Unicorns, hitting 17 sixes in 11 innings. Across those two MLC seasons, he struck 429 runs from only 262 balls, clearing the ropes 30 times and finding the boundary on another 31 occasions. His strike rates across the two seasons jumped from 143.66 in 2024 to 187.50 in 2025.
Those performances opened doors far beyond American cricket. Khan subsequently found opportunities in the Big Bash League, ILT20 and Caribbean Premier League, among other competitions. The journey eventually took him back to where his career had once stalled. Khan returned to the PSL in 2026 with Hyderabad Kingsmen after having been unable to command a place in the competition for a couple of seasons.
His USA call-up now adds another chapter to a career that appears ready to turn yet another leaf. USA will hope Khan can make an immediate impact and establish himself as a significant addition to their ranks in the lead-up to the all-important World Cup Qualifiers in February.
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