Mohammad Hafeez: “We brought in players such as Saim Ayub and Agha Salman, but at the time, there were questions about why these selections were made”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has revealed that people initially questioned why the batting duo of Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha were selected.

Ayub got off to a slow start in international cricket, but caught fire recently as he struck three ODI centuries and a career-best 98 not out in T20Is. All these impressive performances came during Pakistan’s tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, his red-hot run was curbed by a fractured ankle, which is he still recovering from.

As for Salman, he has become one of the go-to middle order batsmen in all three formats and was recently named T20I captain.

During the 2025 Champions Trophy, he scored 61 runs at an average of 30.50.

He followed it up with 167 runs in five T20Is against New Zealand, which included two fifties, at an average of 41.75 and a strike-rate of 135.77.

“We brought in players such as Saim Ayub and Agha Salman, but at the time, there were questions about why these selections were made,” Hafeez was quoted as saying by A Sports.

Pakistan and New Zealand are now playing a three-match ODI series and Salman has amassed 67 runs in two games, which includes a top score of 58, at an average of 33.50.

The men in green are 2-0 down going into the 3rd ODI on April 5 in Mount Maunganui.

Pakistan Squad for T20I Series against New Zealand: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan

Pakistan Squad for ODI Series against New Zealand: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir

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