Tanvir Ahmed: “Naseem Shah has no place in the team based on merit. In the PSL, Mir Hamza was performing really well, so why wasn’t he selected?”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan seamer Tanvir Ahmed believes left-arm pace bowler Mir Hamza should be picked instead of Naseem Shah.
Explaining why he thinks this, Tanvir noted that Hamza performed better than Naseem in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The 32-year-old played for the Karachi Kings and took 10 wickets in nine matches at an average of 23.40 and an economy rate of 7.35.
Naseem, meanwhile, finished with nine wickets in 10 games for Islamabad United at an average of 40.33 and an economy rate of 9.30.
Even though Hamza had a better campaign in PSL 10, Naseem was picked for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, but didn’t end up featuring in any of the matches.
Tanvir was fuming at the decision, insisting that the 22-year-old “has no place in the team based on merit” and should have been left out in favour of Hamza.
“Naseem Shah has no place in the team based on merit. In the PSL, Mir Hamza was performing really well, so why wasn’t he selected?” he was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
After winning the T20I series in Lahore 3-0, Pakistan toured Bangladesh for three T20Is and ended up losing 2-1.
Most recently, they travelled to the West Indies and won the T20I series 2-1 before suffering a 2-1 defeat in the ODIs.
In the ODI series, Naseem snapped up five wickets in two matches at an average of 25.40.
Pakistan will now feature in a T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan in Sharjah, which will be played from August 29 to September 7.
Following this, they will be involved in the 2025 Asia Cup, which will take place in the UAE from September 9 to 28.
Pakistan squad for UAE T20I tri-series and 2025 Asia Cup: 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, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem
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