Who is Sahibzada Farhan? All you need to know about batter leading Pakistan in Asian Games 2026 final against India

Pakistan's men's cricket team are be led by Sahibzada Farhan at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.

Farhan's rise to the leadership role for the Asian Games has been built over several years of domestic cricket, where he established himself as a prolific run-scorer across Pakistan's regional and T20 competitions.

His performances eventually earned him a return to the international setup, and 2026 proved to be a significant year in his career, with a standout T20 World Cup campaign followed by his appointment as Pakistan's captain at the Asian Games.

Who is Sahibzada Farhan?

Sahibzada Farhan is a Pakistan batter who has built his career through the country's domestic cricket system before establishing himself as a regular at the highest level. Born on 6 March, 1996, in Peshawar, Farhan is a right-handed top-order batter.

Farhan's domestic journey began with Peshawar and included age-group cricket before he progressed into senior cricket.

He made his mark in Pakistan's regional cricket and featured in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the country's premier first-class competition. His first-class record includes appearances for Peshawar Region from the 2016-17 season onwards.

The experience gave Farhan exposure to longer-format cricket while his performances in limited-overs competitions increasingly established him as a specialist top-order white-ball batter.

One of his notable domestic achievements came during the 2021-22 National T20 season. Representing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Farhan scored 447 runs in the tournament, a tournament record at the time.

Farhan continued to produce substantial numbers in domestic T20 cricket. In the 2023-24 National T20 Cup, he represented Peshawar Region and finished as the competition's leading run-scorer.

He accumulated 492 runs in 12 matches at an average of 44.73 and a strike rate of 178.91.

His campaign included one century and four half-centuries, while his 29 sixes and 55 fours were also tournament-leading figures. His highest score was an unbeaten 109 against Larkana Region. The PCB subsequently named him the tournament's best batter.

Farhan made his Pakistan debut in a T20I against Australia in July 2018, but had to wait for another six years to make his Pakistan return in 2024, during a T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch.

Two years later, 2026 T20 World Cup became a major milestone in Farhan's international career. He scored 383 runs during the tournament, finishing as the tournament's leading run-scorer. Farhan subsequently expanded his international career beyond T20 cricket. He made his ODI debut for Pakistan during the team's tour of Bangladesh in March 2026.

Till date, Farhan has played six ODIs and 47 T20Is, aggregating 1407 runs across the two formats.