RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: A bubble blowing, bald Australian batsman has become an instant hit in the Pakistan Super League Twenty20 tournament.
Ben Dunk broke his own record of most sixes in a PSL game within a week when he smashed 12 towering sixes against Karachi Kings in an unbeaten 99 off just 40 balls on Sunday night. The blistering knock earned Lahore a resounding eight-wicket win with five balls to spare as the home team raced to 190-2.
Dunk went agonizingly close to a century last Tuesday, too, when he smashed 10 sixes against defending champion Quetta Gladiators in a match-winning knock of 93 not out.
“I think no one realistically will remember whether it was 100 or 99 not outs,” Dunk, who will turn 33 on Wednesday, said. “Most people who came tonight remember that we won the game and I think that’s something that I’ve always prided myself on … and we’re right back in the tournament again.”
And every time Dunk has struck big, the powerful left-hander has celebrated it by blowing a bubble to the great delight of his franchise Lahore Qalandars fans at the Qaddafi Stadium.
“No special things in it, I’m just trying to stay calm in the middle, really,” Dunk said of his celebration. “It’s sort of a little idiosyncrasy, I guess, that I do and probably a bad habit that I should probably stop. But I just try and do it to keep me calm and keep my mind on the task at hand.”
Dunk’s exploits with the bat have changed Lahore’s fortunes. With three league games still in hand, Lahore could make it to the playoffs for the first time in five years after finishing at the bottom of the standings in the previous four editions of the tournament.
Dunk’s ferocious hitting had left bowlers clueless in the PSL. No matter at what length a spinner or a fast bowler has bowled, Dunk has dispatched it over the boundary with apparent ease on both sides of the wicket. Be it experienced left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir or Pakistan’s No. 1 choice Twenty20 left-arm spinner Imad Wasim, both got punished by Dunk on Sunday.
But Dunk, a journeyman who has played in T20 leagues in four countries, believes he’s one of the lucky players to be part of the PSL.
“There’s so many cricketers who want to play in this tournament, both locally here and around the world,” Dunk said. “I’m certainly in no position to dictate where I bat … I’m happy to keep (wickets), happy to bat, happy to bat at 11 and happy to try and bowl if that’s what the team needs. I just want to try and do the best that I can for the team.” He bowls some right-arm offspin, bats left-handed and take the gloves behind the stumps.
Dunk, who hails from Australia’s northern Queensland state, has played five Twenty20 internationals for Australia, making his debut in 2014 against South Africa at Adelaide. Despite his recent form, he doesn’t see himself in the plans of coach Justin Langer for this year’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.
“Fortunately enough, in Australia we’ve got quite a few good players. I would assume JL (Justin Langer) would certainly be following (the PSL), but I would say I am well off the radar.”
Dunk is also inspired by the big crowds in the PSL both at Lahore and Rawalpindi as the Twenty20 league is being played in its entirety for the first time in Pakistan since it was launched in 2016 in the United Arab Emirates.
“The crowds have been amazing, they’re almost like our 12th man,” he said. “As we sort of start to get momentum in the game, you could just feel the crowd getting louder and louder. I really feel quite blessed to have them cheering. I’d certainly rather be playing for Lahore in this stadium than against us, that’s for sure.”
Bubble-blowing Dunk a big hit in Pakistan Super League
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Bubble-blowing Dunk a big hit in Pakistan Super League
- Australian batsman Ben Dunk broke his own record of most sixes in a PSL game within a week
- Every time Dunk struck big, the powerful left-hander celebrated by blowing a bubble to the delight of Lahore Qalandars fans
How Saudi football scored in the runup to 2026 FIFA World Cup
- Saudi Pro League asserted global dominance with star-studded lineups and record-breaking performances from Asia’s elite top-tier clubs
- Domestic leagues reached new heights, yet the national team faces mounting pressure ahead of a high-stakes global tournament
DUBAI: FIFA President Gianni Infantino seemed full of optimism on Dec. 21 when he said Saudi Arabia had become a major hub on the global football stage and that the Saudi Pro League was on track to become one of the top three in the world.
With players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema and a nation crazy about the great game, this endorsement perhaps comes as little surprise.
Infantino also predicted a successful World Cup in 2034 when the tournament will be hosted by Saudi Arabia. With infrastructure being built and upgraded, the Expo 2030 venue under construction, and reforms underway, the World Cup seems destined to be a success.
The FIFA boss also praised the progress made not only at the senior national team level and across youth categories, but also in the women’s game, thanks to the backing of football authorities in recent years.
While this paints a positive picture of the game in the Kingdom, it follows the national team’s 1-0 loss to Jordan in the semi-finals of the 2025 Arab Cup. Many supporters will need far more convincing of the team’s prospects going into the New Year.
Although the return of Herve Renard as coach of the Green Falcons following Roberto Mancini’s disappointing stint has resulted in a second consecutive World Cup qualification (and seventh overall), failure to win the Arab Cup in Qatar and some less than inspiring performances means the jury is still out on the Frenchman.
At the 2026 World Cup, Saudi Arabia will face Uruguay, European champions Spain, and Cape Verde in their three Group H matches, taking place in Miami, Atlanta, and Houston respectively.
Saudi fans sharing Infantino’s positive outlook will hope Renard’s men can emulate the historic win over Argentina on that memorable night at Lusail Stadium in 2022. But that is far easier said than done, and many remain unconvinced.
For a start, just as Poland and Mexico were alerted to Saudi Arabia’s potential following that humbling of Lionel Messi and co in Qatar, their opponents in the US will likewise be on their guard this time around.
Worryingly for Saudi fans, the team has rarely, if at all, hit the same highs since Saleh Al-Shehri’s equalizer and Salem Al-Dawsari’s stunning strike brought about arguably the most famous win in the Green Falcons’ history.
The 2023 AFC Asian Cup, played in early 2024 and only months after Mancini’s arrival, saw Saudi Arabia eliminated by South Korea on penalties in the round of 16.
World Cup qualification was eventually secured but not before the team needed to negotiate a fourth round group that included Iraq and Indonesia in October.
The semi-final exit at the Arab Cups prompted rumors — immediately denied by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation — that Renard’s job was under threat. Still, it was hardly a ringing endorsement of the way things had turned out on his second stint as national team coach.
Outspoken Saudi-based football pundit Battal Algoos has been scathing in his criticism of Renard and his employers, and in particular of the excuses for the Arab Cup disappointment.
“It seems to be a contagion that has affected the Saudi camp,” he said on the football show “Filmarma” on Al Arabiya.
“Everyone justifies (their position) through others’ failures. We brought you to win a championship, not to say ‘those before me didn’t win championships, I’m no worse than them’.
“It seems to be contagious, from (SAFF President) Yasser Al-Misehal to Renard. Or their thinking is one and the same.”
Paul Williams, Australian journalist and founder and presenter of “The Asian Game” podcast, was at Lusail Stadium the day Saudi Arabia beat the eventual world champions, but believes urgent fixes are needed by Renard this time round.
“There are a multitude of areas that Saudi Arabia need to improve,” he told Arab News. “The obvious is in the final third, where there are still issues finding a reliable avenue to goal, an issue that blighted most of their qualification campaign.
“But they also haven’t yet found a capable replacement in midfield for Salman Al-Faraj, and the entire narrative around Saudi football has changed since before 2022.
“There has always been pressure and expectation from the fans, but that is even more intense now and it feels like that sits heavily on the squad, who are yet to prove they are capable of delivering under that burden of expectation.”
The team’s main concern remains, as it was four years ago in Qatar, its lack of fire power up front and an over-reliance on Al-Dawsari for goals and inspiration. In that sense, at least the 34-year-old talisman can still be relied on.
The Al-Hilal and Saudi Arabia captain provided one of the highlights of 2025 when he was named AFC Player of the Year at the awards ceremony in Riyadh. Al-Dawsari is the only Saudi to have won the Asian award twice.
On an individual level, he enjoyed a stellar 2024-25 season with his club, although Al-Hilal lost out on the Saudi Pro League title to a Benzema-inspired Al-Ittihad.
Al-Dawsari and Al-Hilal came back strongly in the summer to reach the quarter-finals of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the US, along the way drawing 1-1 with Real Madrid in the group stage and brilliantly beating Manchester City 4-3 in the round of 16.
Domestically, however, it is their local rivals that have stolen all the headlines, with their lead at the top of the SPL delighting millions of fans around the world and perhaps in the process reinforcing Infantino’s estimation of the league.
Al-Nassr, now managed by former Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus and inspired by the relentlessly enduring Ronaldo, look near invincible at the top of the table, having won all nine matches during this campaign.
The coronation that their fans and the Portuguese legend’s army of global followers had envisioned since he landed in Riyadh three years ago is looking increasingly likely to happen in May. Their end of year report card is glowing 9 out of 10.
Al-Hilal, the self-styled Real Madrid of Asia, can never be counted out however, and the title race in 2026 could be one of the most exciting and close in recent years.
Reigning champions Al-Ittihad, on the other hand, have put up a dismal defense of their title resulting in the sacking of Laurent Blanc, who was succeeded by Sergio Conceicao. Their card will read “must do better.”
Al-Ahli provided further evidence of the SPL’s continental dominance by claiming the 2025 AFC Champions League Elite after beating Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 in Jeddah last May.
Elsewhere, Aramco-owned Al-Qadsiah and newly promoted NEOM provide intriguing plot lines as they sit in fifth and eighth respectively, while Al-Taawoun continue to punch above their weight in third.
One of the standout personalities of the season has been US investor Ben Harburg who — through Harburg Group — acquired 100 percent of Al-Kholood in July, making it the first Saudi club wholly owned by a foreign entity. The purchase opens up new possibilities for the SPL.
There is little debate now that the SPL is the most powerful and entertaining in Asia and could in future years, if Infantino is right, become one of the world’s best. The national team’s standing however, until the 2026 World Cup at least, remains up in the air.
