Mohammad Yousuf: “Usman Khan did not go through that process and was directly included in the Pakistan national cricket team. New players should not be selected for the national team even if they score [two] centuries in the PSL”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan legend Mohammad Yousuf has questioned how batsman Usman Khan was allowed to get into the national team so quickly.
Usman has featured in two ODIs, where he has scored 51 runs at an average of 25.50.
He has also played 19 T20Is and mustered 239 runs, which includes a top score of 52, at an average of 14.93 and a strike-rate of 121.93.
The 30-year-old was fast-tracked into the Pakistan team following his performance in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he amassed 430 runs in seven games for the Multan Sultans, which included two centuries and two fifties, at an average of 107.50 and a strike-rate of 164.12.
However, Yousuf noted that all players who want to represent their country should be sent to the academy before going on to play first-class cricket.
Following this, they should also get the opportunity to show off their skills in the PSL.
While playing domestic cricket and in the PSL, the selectors should monitor players’ progress before deciding if they are ready to make the jump to international cricket.
Yousuf pointed out that Usman didn’t go through this process and was simply handed a call-up to the national team.
“Usman Khan had performed in the previous edition of the PSL. Selecting players for the national team from the PSL is not the right criterion. It is fair enough to send a player to the academy if he has any potential. First, work on him in the academy and then send him to play first-class cricket,” he said on Samaa TV programme Zor Ka Jor.
“Then if the player performs in first-class cricket, the selectors should keep an eye on him, and if he then performs in the PSL, you can consider his inclusion in the national side.
“However, Usman Khan did not go through that process and was directly included in the Pakistan national cricket team. New players should not be selected for the national team even if they score [two] centuries in the PSL.”
Usman recently took part in the 2025 PSL and accumulated 213 runs in eight matches for the Sultans, which included a top score of 61, at an average of 26.62 and a strike-rate of 147.91.
After PSL 10 ended, Pakistan took on Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series, but Usman was not included in the team.
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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