Sameer Minhas will turn to red-ball cricket after PSL 2026 as he looks to take the next step in his cricketing journey. The Pakistan Under-19 opener will play for JDW Sugar Mills in the President's Trophy Grade-II tournament - a three-day competition - which, ESPNcricinfo understands, is scheduled to begin in the middle of May. This will be his first appearance in a senior red-ball tournament.
Minhas, the right-hand batter, is also in line to make his first-class debut with Pakistan Television (PTV) in the next men's domestic season. PTV won the President's Trophy in 2024 and have Arafat, Sameer's older brother, in their squad.
The younger Minhas has gained recognition for his sound technique and ability to score runs at a brisk rate through traditional strokeplay, and that's the reason Mohammad Wasim, the PTV head coach and former Test opener, has picked him in the squad. "I pick aggressive batters who can smack the ball around even in four-day cricket and score at a higher strike rate," he told ESPNcricinfo. "Our plan is to have an opening pair of Shamyl Hussain and Sameer."
Minhas had drawn interest from other teams as well, but Kashif Minhas, Arafat and Sameer's father, who has been pivotal in turning his sons' hobby into their profession, opted for PTV, who are known to stack their side with young, up-and-coming cricketers instead of established Test players. It, Kashif believes, will ensure an extended run for Sameer throughout the season.
"He could have been benched after a few low scores [because of more experienced batters being around] in the other departments, which would have wasted his season, but that would not be the case here," he told ESPNcricinfo. "He will learn to bat for extended periods and it will help him understand how he can score centuries and win matches for the team.
"Red-ball cricket helps youngsters become mature cricketers. I have had a thorough discussion with Sameer and I said that he has to play every season of domestic red-ball cricket, come what may, even after he has broken into the Pakistan team. It will help him at the international level as the longer format is a proper avenue of learning cricket."
Sameer rose to prominence last year with a match-winning 172 off 113 balls against India in the final of the Under-19 Asia Cup at the ICC Academy in Dubai. He was the highest run-getter in the tournament with 471 runs in five matches at a strike rate of 117.45, and went on to be Pakistan's leading run-scorer at the recent Under-19 World Cup as well, with 197 runs in five matches.
Between those two tournaments, he smashed the fastest century in youth ODIs - in 42 balls - against Zimbabwe.
When his name came up at the PSL player auction, it triggered a bidding war between Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators. United eventually snapped him for PKR 19 million, the highest price for an Under-23 uncapped player at the auction - also more than three times his base price (PKR 6 million).
Sameer repaid their faith by creating a record for the most runs by a teenager in a PSL season and being United's leading run scorer overall ahead of Eliminator 2, which features United against Hyderabad Kingsmen on Friday. He has amassed 343 runs at an average of 42.87 and a strike rate of 155.90. He has scored three half-centuries in ten innings and is seventh on the list of highest run-getters this season. All leading into the stint with PTV and red-ball cricket.
