Basit Ali: “If selection is based on recent performances, how did Naseem make it to [the] squad?”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former batsman Basit Ali has asked how fast bowler Naseem Shah was picked in the Pakistan team if selections are “based on recent performances”.
Naseem hasn’t been at his best lately, but still continues to remain in the selectors’ plans.
The 22-year-old recently featured for Islamabad United in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), but fell slightly short of expectations as he claimed nine wickets in 10 matches at an average of 40.33 and an economy rate of 9.30.
Given how Naseem did in PSL 10, Basit wants to know what merited his selection in the national team.
“If selection is based on recent performances, how did Naseem make it to [the] squad?” he was quoted as saying by ARY News.
After the PSL concluded, Naseem did not take part in Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, which the men in green won 3-0.
He also wasn’t involved in the tour of Bangladesh, where Pakistan suffered a 2-1 loss in the T20I series.
Pakistan then toured the West Indies for three T20Is and three ODIs, but Naseem was only included in the ODI team.
In the ODI series, he picked up five wickets in two matches at an average of 25.40.
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
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