Mohammad Yousuf: “I’ve heard Mohammad Naeem’s name for the first time. Has he even played first-class cricket? I’ve only seen him face 10 or 11 balls”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Yousuf had doubts about up-and-coming opening batsman Mohammad Naeem prior to the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Yousuf noted that he had only seen Naeem “face 10 or 11 balls” and thus questioned the Lahore Qalandars’ decision to let such an inexperienced player open the batting, especially as he had only played five T20s before making his PSL debut.
However, the 26-year-old performed well in PSL 10, scoring 314 runs in 12 matches, which included three fifties, at an average of 26.16 and a strike-rate of 162.69.
“I’ve heard Mohammad Naeem’s name for the first time. Has he even played first-class cricket? I’ve only seen him face 10 or 11 balls,” Yousuf was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Following the conclusion of PSL 10, which the Qalandars won, Pakistan faced Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series, but Naeem wasn’t included in the squad.
The men in green won the series 3-0.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub
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