Sameen Rana: “He was not even getting opportunities in domestic cricket, nobody was willing to give him a chance”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Lahore Qalandars co-owner Sameen Rana said up-and-coming batsman Mohammad Naeem “was not even getting opportunities in domestic cricket” before being given a shot at the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Naeem was one of the standout stars of the tournament as he amassed 314 runs in 12 matches for the Qalandars, which included three fifties, at an average of 26.16 and a strike-rate of 162.69.
Having provided the 26-year-old with a chance to showcase his talent, Rana also lashed out at all the people who claimed to have helped and supported Naeem over the years.
He questioned what they had done for him in comparison to how the Qalandars have nurtured and developed him into an exciting prospect.
“Where were those people between 2016 and 2025, what were they doing for him? Has the system done anything for him? Did he get opportunities? Did someone provide him with boarding and lodging for one-and-a-half years which Lahore Qalandars did? Did someone send him to Namibia for training? Did somebody coach him? Where were they at that time? No one was there,” he told respected journalist Saj Sadiq in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“He was not even getting opportunities in domestic cricket, nobody was willing to give him a chance.”
After PSL 10, Pakistan went up against Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series in Lahore and won 3-0.
They then toured Bangladesh for three T20Is, but failed to have the same level of success as they were beaten 2-1.
Pakistan then travelled to the West Indies and came away with mixed results as they won the T20I series 2-1, but lost the ODI series 2-1.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
Pakistan Squad for West Indies ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem