Babar Azam: “Mohammad Ali performed well in PSL 9 but struggled later. He is currently less experienced and [we] need some more time to work on him”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam said pace bowler Mohammad Ali “is currently less experienced”, even though he has been dominating in domestic cricket as of late.
Many people have called for Ali to be called up to the national team, especially after his fantastic performance for the Multan Sultans in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The 31-year-old, who has represented Pakistan in two Test matches, finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in PSL 9 with 19 wickets in 12 games at an average of 18.63 and an economy rate of 8.23.
Ali then represented Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the President’s Cup Grade-I (1-Day) tournament and was the third-highest wicket-taker with 10 wickets in six matches at an average of 21.50.
Despite having been in red-hot form, Azam feels the Sialkot native still needs to develop his game before he is ready for an international comeback.
“Mohammad Ali performed well in PSL 9 but struggled later. He is currently less experienced and [we] need some more time to work on him,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Arfa Feroz Zake on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam recently captained Pakistan in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand and amassed 125 runs, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 31.25 and a strike-rate of 138.88.
He then proceeded to score 132 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 44 and a strike-rate of 148.31 in the three-match T20I series against Ireland.
Pakistan are now taking on England in a four-match T20I series, which is level at 0-0 after the first game was abandoned due to persistent rain.
Following this, the men in green will participate in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be played in the West Indies and United States of America from June 1 to 29.
Pakistan’s first T20 World Cup game will be against the United States of America in Dallas on June 6.
Pakistan Squad for Ireland and England T20I Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed