Ahmed Shehzad: “Sajid Khan and Nauman Ali deserve credit for consistently delivering on spin-friendly pitches. Abrar Ahmed, too, has been brilliant. But let’s not forget, these conditions are tailor-made for them. We need to prepare players for all kinds of surfaces”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Veteran batsman Ahmed Shehzad has urged Pakistan to work with spinners Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Abrar Ahmed so that they are able to take wickets on all types of pitches.
He noted that currently, the trio only shine on surfaces where there is a lot of spin and bounce on offer.
This was evident during the two-Test series against the West Indies in Multan, where Noman picked up 16 wickets, which included two five-wicket hauls, at an average of 12.62.
As for Sajid, he ended up with 15 wickets, which included a five-for, at an average of 17.
Abrar, meanwhile, claimed seven wickets at an average of 14.57.
This marked a stark difference from the two-Test series in South Africa, where Sajid and Abrar weren’t even picked, while Noman was part of the squad, but wasn’t included in the playing XI for both matches.
Since spinners play an important role in Test cricket, Shehzad reiterated that Noman, Sajid and Abrar need to work on their game so that they can take more wickets outside of Pakistan.
“Sajid Khan and Nauman Ali deserve credit for consistently delivering on spin-friendly pitches. Abrar Ahmed, too, has been brilliant. But let’s not forget, these conditions are tailor-made for them. We need to prepare players for all kinds of surfaces,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Noman and Sajid haven’t played for Pakistan since the Test series against the West Indies as they aren’t selected in the limited overs formats.
Abrar, on the other hand, did feature in the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, and snapped up three wickets in three games at an average of 57.
He then took part in the 2025 Champions Trophy and ended up with two wickets in two matches at an average of 37.50.
After this, the 26-year-old took five wickets in three T20Is against New Zealand at an average of 19.80.
As for the three-match ODI series that followed, he wasn’t included in the playing XI for any of the matches.
Currently, Abrar is representing the Quetta Gladiators in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), while Noman and Sajid weren’t selected by any franchise.
Abrar started off with four wickets against the Peshawar Zalmi before claiming two wickets against the Lahore Qalandars.
PSL 10 began on April 11 and will finish on May 18.
Quetta Gladiators Squad for PSL 10:
- Platinum: Faheem Ashraf, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman
- Diamond: Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, Rilee Rossouw
- Gold: Akeal Hosein, Saud Shakeel (captain), Mohammad Wasim Jnr
- Silver: Haseebullah Khan, Khawaja Nafay, Kyle Jamieson, Khurram Shahzad, Usman Tariq
- Emerging: Mohammad Zeeshan, Hasan Nawaz
- Supplementary: Danish Aziz, Kusal Mendis, Sean Abbott, Shoaib Malik