STUMPSCOPEGLOBAL CRICKET COVERAGEPakistan · Fast Bowler
Arshad Iqbal is a Pakistani right-arm medium-fast bowler from Swabi who has represented Pakistan in three T20 internationals. He emerged through the 2018 Under-19 World Cup, helped Karachi Kings win the 2020 Pakistan Super League and later took 5/37 for Pakistan Shaheens in the 2023 Emerging Teams Asia Cup. His current senior record through 30 August 2026 includes 87 first-class wickets, 54 List A wickets and 71 T20 wickets. In June 2026, he was player of the final after taking 3/28 as Abbottabad won its first National T20 Cup title.
Current squadMultan SultansPakistan Super League · Named in the completed 2026 Multan Sultans squadCareer overview
Born on 26 December 2000 in Swabi; age 25 on 30 August 2026.
Right-arm medium-fast bowler and right-handed lower-order batter.
Took six wickets at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup and later reached Pakistan's T20I side.
Returned 3/16 on his PSL 2021 player-of-the-match performance for Karachi Kings.
Recorded 5/37 for Pakistan Shaheens in the 2023 Emerging Teams Asia Cup.
Took 3/28 as player of the final in Abbottabad's 2026 National T20 title win.
Career story
Arshad Iqbal is a Pakistani fast bowler from Swabi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He bowls right-arm medium-fast, bats right-handed and has played senior domestic cricket, the PSL, Pakistan Shaheens matches and three T20 internationals.
His career is not the record of similarly named cricketers. PCB player number 45241 and ESPNcricinfo ID 1130463 connect the same birth date, bowling style, Pakistan cap and domestic teams.
Iqbal was born on 26 December 2000 in Swabi, Pakistan. He was 25 years old on 30 August 2026.
Some secondary biographies narrow the birthplace to Maniri Payan in Swabi District. PCB's current profile supports Swabi, so this profile uses the official location without turning a childhood village into a current address or claiming that he still lives there.
Iqbal is a right-arm medium-fast seam bowler whose primary value comes from taking wickets with the new ball and through the middle overs. He is a right-handed lower-order batter rather than a bowling all-rounder.
His record supports that classification. By the current cutoff he had 87 first-class wickets but only one first-class fifty, while his limited-overs batting totals remained small. The batting contribution is recorded accurately without being inflated into a second specialist role.
Iqbal progressed from Swabi Under-19 cricket into the Abbottabad regional pathway. PCB records connect him with Swabi Under-19s, Abbottabad Region Under-19s and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Under-19s before his senior domestic breakthrough.
That pathway matters because Abbottabad later became the setting for one of his most important senior achievements. He returned to the regional side and was player of the final when it won the National T20 Cup in 2026.
Pakistan selected Iqbal for the 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. He took six wickets in five matches as Pakistan reached the semi-finals and finished joint third after the placement match was abandoned.
The tournament included future senior internationals from several countries. In the semi-final against India, Iqbal dismissed Harvik Desai, Riyan Parag and Abhishek Sharma, although Shubman Gill's unbeaten hundred helped India win by 203 runs.
Iqbal produced 6/34 in his only match of the 2018 ACC Youth Under-19 Asia Cup. PCB's official tournament averages record 52 balls, 34 runs and six wickets.
The performance followed a 5/25 on Pakistan Under-19s' New Zealand tour earlier that year. Both were age-group one-day achievements, so they belong in his development story but not in his senior List A five-wicket count.
Iqbal made his first-class debut for Water and Power Development Authority in October 2018 and took five wickets in the match. PCB later highlighted the performance when describing his rise toward the national side.
An effective debut did not make him an automatic Pakistan selection. He continued through domestic cricket and the PSL, with his first senior international opportunity arriving more than two years later in April 2021.
Karachi Kings selected Iqbal as an emerging player for PSL 2020. He took nine wickets in seven matches during his first season and became part of the first Karachi squad to win the tournament.
His role was more than holding a roster place. He contributed wickets during the league stage and returned 2/21 against Multan Sultans in the qualifier, a tied match that Karachi won through the Super Over before beating Lahore Qalandars in the final.
Iqbal dismissed Khushdil Shah and Shahid Afridi while conceding 21 runs against Multan Sultans in the 2020 qualifier. The spell helped keep Multan to 141 for seven.
Karachi also made 141, then won the Super Over through Mohammad Amir's final over. Iqbal's figures were therefore part of the route to the final, but he did not bowl the Super Over and should not be credited with deciding it alone.
Karachi Kings won PSL 2020, giving Iqbal a franchise championship in his debut season. The title followed the pandemic-delayed playoffs in November, months after the original league phase.
A team honour and an individual award answer different questions. Iqbal's title belongs in his achievements, while the clearest individual PSL match came at the start of the following season with 3/16 against Quetta Gladiators.
Iqbal took 3/16 from four overs as Karachi Kings beat Quetta Gladiators by seven wickets on 20 February 2021. PCB named him player of the match.
His spell helped dismiss Quetta for 121 in 18.2 overs before Karachi chased the target in 13.5 overs. It remains his best recorded senior T20 bowling figure through the current cutoff and was a direct reason for his national selection soon afterward.
Iqbal finished the PSL 2021 league phase as Karachi Kings' leading wicket-taker, with eight wickets from eight matches at an average of 29. PCB's season review also placed him among the competition's most productive emerging pacers.
The full season occurred in two phases because the tournament was suspended and resumed in Abu Dhabi. His early 3/16 and later wickets provided sustained evidence, although Karachi's attempted title defence ended before the final.
Pakistan selected Iqbal for the T20I tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe in March 2021. Chief selector Muhammad Wasim described the call-ups for Iqbal, Mohammad Wasim Junior and Shahnawaz Dahani as rewards for emerging domestic performances.
Selection did not immediately guarantee a match. Iqbal remained outside the XI in South Africa before making his international debut during the Zimbabwe leg in Harare.
Iqbal made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe on 23 April 2021 at Harare Sports Club. He dismissed Tadiwanashe Marumani for his first international wicket.
Zimbabwe defended 118 after bowling Pakistan out for 99, so the debut came in a historic home win for Zimbabwe. Iqbal's wicket was a personal milestone within a team defeat, and the result should remain part of the account rather than disappearing behind the debut label.
Iqbal's international record stands at three T20Is, nine overs, 53 runs and four wickets. His average is 13.25, economy 5.88 and best bowling 3/14.
The 3/14 came against Bangladesh at the 2023 Asian Games on 7 October. That match remains his most recent senior Pakistan appearance through 30 August 2026, so his international span is active in the statistical record but not evidence of a current regular place.
Iqbal took 3/14 against Bangladesh in the 2023 Asian Games bronze-medal match. The wickets produced his best T20I figures, but Bangladesh won the rain-adjusted contest and took bronze.
The performance raised his international wicket total from one to four. It did not produce a Pakistan medal, and it should not be described as a tournament title or a match-winning spell.
Iqbal took 5/37 for Pakistan Shaheens in the 2023 Emerging Teams Asia Cup. Across three matches he claimed seven wickets for 77 runs at an average of 11 and economy of 4.62.
Pakistan Shaheens won the tournament, beating India A in the final. Iqbal's five-wicket performance came earlier in the competition; the achievement is both a genuine List A five-for and part of a title-winning campaign, but not a claim that all five wickets came in the final.
After his Karachi spell, Iqbal represented Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL. One of his strongest matches for the franchise was 3/27 against Lahore Qalandars in March 2023.
The wickets included Shawaiz Irfan, Hussain Talat and David Wiese as Peshawar defended 207. His franchise chronology therefore covers Karachi, Peshawar and the later Multan squad rather than a single uninterrupted team career.
Iqbal's playing rhythm was interrupted after 2023, and Peshawar Zalmi published an interview about his recovery before PSL 2024. The reliable public record does not support diagnosing the injury beyond what the player and team chose to discuss.
His later domestic appearances show a return to competitive cricket. A comeback should be measured from completed matches and selection records, not from claims that a player is permanently fully fit or guaranteed a franchise role.
Abbottabad beat Karachi Whites by nine wickets in the National T20 Cup final on 7 June 2026. It was the region's first title in the competition.
Iqbal took 3/28 from four overs and was named player of the final. He dismissed Abdullah Fazal, Shan Masood and Khawaja Nafay as Karachi were bowled out for 118, before Abbottabad completed the chase with 37 balls remaining.
The final performance is one of Iqbal's strongest recent achievements because it combined wickets, economy, knockout pressure and a team title. It also came after Abbottabad had lost the 2023/24 National T20 final.
It was not his career-best T20 figure—3/16 for Karachi remains lower in runs conceded—but the final context gives 3/28 distinct value. One is his best T20 analysis; the other is his player-of-the-final title performance.
Iqbal appeared for Pakistan Greens against Pakistan Blues in the 2026 National Champions Cup. He bowled two overs for 23 without taking a wicket as Greens won by 192 runs.
PCB's current List A match directory shows 34 appearances, one more than the 33-match aggregate carried by an earlier current statistics snapshot. This profile adds that documented match to matches and balls but does not invent a wicket or batting innings.
Iqbal was named in the Multan Sultans squad for PSL 2026, extending his franchise association beyond Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi. The roster establishes membership for that season.
A squad entry does not by itself establish how many matches he played or how much he was paid. Secondary season pages also displayed a wrong birth date for the roster entry, so the official PCB identity remains the controlling record.
Through the available 2026 cutoff, Iqbal had played 23 first-class matches and taken 87 wickets from 4,233 balls. He conceded 2,316 runs, averaged 26.62 and recorded best innings figures of 5/24 and match figures of 8/86.
His record includes two five-wicket innings and four four-wicket innings. With the bat he scored 241 runs from 33 innings, including a high score of 62 and one fifty. These totals replace the stale April 2025 table of 18 matches and 61 wickets.
Arshad Iqbal records
Batting, bowling and fielding figures are kept separate by competition and format.
Only fields published by the named source are shown; unavailable values are not guessed.
Only fields published by the named source are shown; unavailable values are not guessed.
Only fields published by the named source are shown; unavailable values are not guessed.
Career chronology
Selected for the 2018 Under-19 World Cup
Six wickets in five World Cup matches and 6/34 at the 2018 Youth Asia Cup
WAPDA debut in October 2018 with five match wickets
23 matches and 87 wickets through the available 2026 cutoff
23 April 2021 against Zimbabwe in Harare
7 October 2023 against Bangladesh at the Asian Games
2023 Emerging Teams Asia Cup
Seven wickets in three matches, including 5/37
Progressed through the regional youth pathway
Player of the final in the 2026 National T20 title win
Career achievements
Reader questions
Arshad Iqbal was born on 26 December 2000 and was 25 years old on 30 August 2026.
He is from Swabi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
He bowls right-arm medium-fast and is classified as a specialist fast bowler.
He has played three T20Is for Pakistan, taking four wickets with best figures of 3/14.
His best senior T20 figures are 3/12. His best T20I figures are 3/14.
He had 87 first-class wickets from 23 matches through the available 2026 cutoff.
Yes. He was part of Karachi Kings' PSL 2020 title-winning team and took nine wickets in his debut season.
He took 3/28 and was player of the final as Abbottabad beat Karachi Whites by nine wickets.
His PSL career includes Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi, and he was named in Multan Sultans' 2026 squad.
No dependable public source establishes his current net worth, total earnings or confirmed PSL salary.
Arshad Iqbal's career links youth success, a PSL title, Pakistan selection and domestic title performances. The 3/16 for Karachi, T20I best of 3/14, Shaheens five-for and Abbottabad final spell are the clearest match-level markers.
His broader record—87 first-class wickets, 54 List A wickets and 71 T20 wickets—shows more depth than a three-match international sample alone. The next step depends on new completed scorecards, while his Multan squad status, finances and private life remain carefully separated from unsupported assumptions.