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Arafat Minhas

Pakistani cricketer (born 2005)

Arafat Minhas is a Pakistani cricketer who plays for the Pakistan cricket team and Multan Sultans. An all-rounder, Minhas is a left-handed batsman who bowls left arm orthodox.

Arafat Minhas

Arafat Minhas
Personal information
Born (2005-01-02) 2 January 2005 (age 21)
Multan, Punjab, Pakistan
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1]
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingSlow left-arm orthodox
RoleAll-rounder
RelationsSameer Minhas (brother)
International information
National side
Only ODI (cap 261)30 May 2026 v Australia
ODI shirt no.90
T20I debut (cap 104)3 October 2023 v Hong Kong
Last T20I5 December 2024 v Zimbabwe
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2022/23Southern Punjab
2023Multan Sultans (squad no. 66)
2024–2025Karachi Kings (squad no. 23)
2026Multan Sultans (squad no. 23)
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I FC LA
Matches 1 4 17 21
Runs scored 18 60 941 457
Batting average - 30.00 32.44 28.56
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 1/4 0/3
Top score 18* 25 152* 82
Balls bowled 60 72 1,128 770
Wickets 5 4 22 23
Bowling average 6.40 15.50 32.36 25.65
5 wickets in innings 1 0 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 5/32 2/11 3/36 5/32
Catches/stumpings 0/– 1/– 13/– 8/–
Source: Cricinfo, 31 May 2026

Arafat Minhas (Urdu: ; born 2 January 2005) is a Pakistani cricketer who plays for the Pakistan cricket team and Multan Sultans.[2][3] An all-rounder, Minhas is a left-handed batsman who bowls left arm orthodox .

Early career

Minhas was born in Multan, Punjab, into a Punjabi Rajput family of the Minhas clan to Kashif Minhas, a former Under-19 cricketer. Minhas considers his father to be his role model and also admires AB de Villiers. He began to play red-ball club-level cricket at the age of 9 and went on to play Under-13 and Under-16 cricket. In Under-19 cricket he was adjudged player of the tournament in the National Under-19 Championship 2021/22.[4]

Youth career

Minhas has played for the Pakistan under-19 team.[5]

On 15 May 2023, in the 5th and final Youth ODI during the Pakistan U19 tour of Bangladesh, Minhas scored 40 off 42 before taking 3 wickets for 20 runs in 7.3 overs (including a maiden over), with an economy rate of 2.66. He was also responsible for the run out of Mohammad Shihab James, Bangladesh's top scorer in the match.[6]

On 24 October 2023, in the 2nd Youth ODI in Karachi against Sri Lanka U19, Minhas was named Player of the Match for his all-round contribution: he hit 95 off 66 deliveries (nine fours, two sixes) followed by an economical spell with the ball, conceding only 21 runs in 10 overs.[7]

In December 2023, Minhas was included in the squad for the 2023 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup and was named vice-captain.[8]

He was then named in the squad for the 2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.[9] On 27 January 2024, in a group match against New Zealand U19, Minhas was noted for his bowling figures, as he got 3 wickets for 6 runs in 5 overs, with an economy rate of 1.20.[10] On 8 February 2024, in the semi-final against Australia U19, who would later go on to win the trophy, Minhas was the joint top-scorer with 52 and later took 2 wickets for 20 runs in 10 overs, with an economy rate of 2. As a batsman he was noted for being attacking while his bowling "brought Pakistan into the game." In what has been described as a thrilling match, Pakistan eventually lost it by 1 wicket (with 5 balls remaining.)[11] During the tournament, Minhas took 8 wickets at an average of 9.87 while he also scored 105 runs at an average of 21.[12]

Domestic career

Minhas captained Gwadar Sharks in the 2022 Pakistan Junior League and was named in the team of the tournament as captain.[13][14][15] Minhas made his List A debut for Southern Punjab against Sindh on 10 December 2022 during the 2022–23 Pakistan Cup.[16] Minhas was selected by Multan Sultans in the supplementary category during the 2023 Pakistan Super League players draft.[17][18] He was selected by Karachi Kings in the silver category during the 2024 Pakistan Super League players draft.[19][20]

International career

In December 2022, Minhas was among the "three high-performing teenagers" added the Pakistani Test squad along with Mohammad Zeeshan and Basit Ali by the interim selection committee.[21][22]

In August 2023, he was named in Pakistan's squad for the 2022 Asian Games. On 3 October 2023, Minhas made his T20I debut for Pakistan against Hong Kong during the Asian Games. He hit 25 off 16 deliveries and later took 2 wickets for 19 runs, with an economy rate of 4.75.[23][24]

On 19 October 2024, playing for Pakistan Shaheens against India A during the 2024 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup, Minhas hit a rapid 41 off 29 deliveries with the bat but then was dismissed in a controversial umpiring decision, which some observers say impacted the outcome of the match, Pakistan losing by a mere 7 runs.[25]

On 5 December 2024, in the 3rd T20I of the tour of Zimbabwe, Minhas hit 22 in a low scoring game and then bowled 4 overs for 17 runs, while he took no wickets he had the best economy rate among Pakistan bowlers (4.25), in a match that Pakistan lost by 2 wickets (with 1 ball remaining.)[26]

On 30 May 2026, he made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Australia in the 1st match of the home series. With bowling figures of 5/32 in 10 overs, most of the wickets being top and middle-order batsmen, and reducing Australia to 200, he became the first spinner as well the first Pakistan bowler to take five wickets on ODI debut and was declared Player of the Match, as Pakistan won the match.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Cricket – MINHAS Arafat Ahmed Athlete Profile". OCAGames. Olympic Council of Asia. Archived from the original on 2 November 2025. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  2. ↑ "Arafat Minhas profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  3. ↑ "Arafat Minhas | Pakistan Cricket Team | Official Cricket Profiles | PCB". www.pcb.com.pk. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  4. ↑ Husain, Amir (12 January 2023). "Talent Spotter: Arafat Minhas". PakPassion. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  5. ↑ Reporter, The Newspaper's Sports (19 November 2022). "Arafat, Saad help Pakistan U-19 draw series against BD". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  6. ↑ "Bangladesh Under-19s vs Pakistan Under-19s, 5th Youth ODI, Pakistan Under-19s in Bangladesh 2023 – Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. May 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  7. ↑ "Pakistan Under-19s vs Sri Lanka Under-19s, 2nd Youth ODI – Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  8. ↑ "PCB announces 15-member Pakistan squad for the Under-19 Asia Cup 2023; Saad Baig to lead". Cricket Times. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  9. ↑ ICC (29 December 2023). "Every ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2024 squad". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  10. ↑ ESPNcricinfo Staff (27 January 2024). "Under-19 World Cup: Shahzaib Khan and Ubaid Shah help Pakistan thump New Zealand". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  11. ↑ Shah, Sreshth (8 February 2024). "Heartbreak for Pakistan as Australia seal final date with India". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  12. ↑ "Arafat Minhas – ICC Under-19 World Cup 2024 Stats and Profile". ICC Cricket. International Cricket Council. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  13. ↑ PCB; World, Cricket; October 2022, Pakistan Junior League Saturday 22. "Arafat Minhas named captain of Team of Pakistan Junior League". Cricket World. Retrieved 21 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ "Arafat Minhas named captain of Team of Pakistan Junior League". www.pcb.com.pk. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  15. ↑ Report, Recorder (23 October 2022). "Gwadar Sharks' all-rounder Arafat named captain of PJL". Brecorder. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  16. ↑ "Full Scorecard of Sindh vs Southern PNJ 2nd Match 2022/23 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  17. ↑ "As it happened - PSL 2023 player draft". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  18. ↑ "PSL Draft 2023 — complete list of the teams". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  19. ↑ "Live blog - PSL Player Draft 2024". ESPNcricinfo. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  20. ↑ "Franchises finalise squads in PSL 2024 Draft". cricketpakistan.com.pk. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  21. ↑ "Three high-performing teenagers added to Test squad". www.pcb.com.pk. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  22. ↑ Sports, A. (27 December 2022). "Three PJL stars added to Pakistan Test squad". ASports.tv. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  23. ↑ "HKG vs PAK, Asian Games Men's Cricket Competition 2023, 2nd Quarter-Final at Hangzhou, October 03, 2023 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  24. ↑ "Lower order and spinners lead Pakistan to Asian Games semi-finals". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  25. ↑ News Desk (20 October 2024). "Pakistan's hopes of winning the 2024 Emerging Asia Cup were dashed by a contentious umpiring call". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  26. ↑ Staff, ESPNcricinfo (5 December 2024). "Zimbabwe vs Pakistan 3rd T20I, full scorecard & match report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  27. ↑ Nagi, Ahsan Iftikhar (30 May 2026). "Debutant Minhas' five-for bowls Australia out for 200 in first ODI". ESPNCricinfo.