Shadab Khan: profile, career stats and latest scores (2026)

Shadab Khan is Pakistan's leg-spinning all-rounder and the first Pakistani man to take 100 wickets in T20 internationals. He is not in Pakistan's Asian Games squad, which is the question most people searching his name this week are actually asking.

Quick facts

All three international debuts came inside five weeks of each other in 2017, against West Indies, when he was 18.

Career statistics

Figures below are as recorded to 1 June 2026.

The T20I column is the one that matters. A bowling average of 24.31 across 124 matches, with best figures of 4 for 8, is a front-line international T20 record, and 123 wickets is the most by any Pakistan spinner in the format.

Is Shadab Khan playing at the Asian Games?

No. Pakistan's 15-member men's squad for the Asian Games 2026 in Japan, announced on 10 June 2026, is captained by Sahibzada Farhan with Abdul Samad as vice-captain. The squad is Sahibzada Farhan, Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan.

Shadab is not in it. Nor are Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan or Shaheen Shah Afridi. This is a young squad built around players the selectors want to look at, not a first-choice XI, and Sufyan Moqim and Abrar Ahmed carry the spin.

Pakistan's quarter-final is on Monday 28 September at 5am Pakistan time. Our Asian Games cricket schedule has the full draw in Pakistan time.

Latest appearances on record

His most recent recorded international outings are an ODI against Australia on 30 May 2026, in which he made 71, and a T20I against Sri Lanka on 28 February 2026.

Captaincy

Shadab first captained Pakistan on 18 December 2020, in a T20I against New Zealand, standing in for an injured Babar Azam. He was made vice-captain of the T20 squad in September 2021 and held that role at the 2021 T20 World Cup. He was part of the side that reached the 2022 T20 World Cup final, lost to Australia at the MCG.

At franchise level he has captained Islamabad United since December 2021 and led them to a record third PSL title in 2024.

The record that defines him

On 27 March 2023, against Afghanistan, Shadab became the first male cricketer from Pakistan to take 100 wickets in T20 internationals. For a leg-spinner in a format built to punish them, in an era when Pakistan's T20 attack was rebuilt around pace, that number is the argument for his career.

How he bowls

Leg break, googly, and a quicker slider that he uses more than most leggies. He bowls in the powerplay when asked, which is unusual for a wrist-spinner and is the reason his economy is discussed as often as his strike rate. He also fields in the ring as well as anyone in the side: 44 T20I catches from 124 matches.

This page is updated when Shadab plays, when squads are announced, and when his figures change. Last checked 23 September 2026.