Pakistan spinner Usama Mir: “When I’m available, I don’t get selected – so what’s left to say about anything else? I just don’t understand it”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan leg-spinner Usama Mir has vented his frustration at the fact that he doesn’t get picked when he’s available to play for his country.
Mir last represented the men in green in April 2024 and has been trying to get back on the national selectors’ radar ever since.
He didn’t have the best of performances in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) as he only managed to take four wickets in seven matches for the Multan Sultans at an average of 55.50 and an economy rate of 9.31.
Despite this, he noted that he has always worked hard and believes his fitness levels being brought up all the time is nothing but an excuse to justify his omission from the team.
“When I’m available, I don’t get selected – so what’s left to say about anything else? I just don’t understand it,” the 29-year-old was quoted as saying by A Sports.
“I was the highest wicket-taker in last year’s PSL, yet I wasn’t picked. This year, although I didn’t perform at that level, there were still players with worse performances who got selected. It’s very clear to me now.
“Even today, I still hold the record for the most wickets in a single PSL season over ten editions – but despite that, I wasn’t picked. If you look at my last match performance, people still say, ‘You won us that game – how did you get dropped after that?’ I can’t understand it either.
“After that, I worked extremely hard. They made fitness an excuse. I was told I failed the fitness test, so I trained hard. I was captain of the Sialkot team; the trainers, the head coach – all can vouch for me. Even opposition teams were surprised by how much effort I was putting in.
“These are the kind of things that happened with me, and I’m genuinely shocked as to why. I have proof of everything I’ve said.”
After PSL 10, Mir was not picked for Pakistan’s T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, the T20I tour of Bangladesh, and the white-ball tour of the West Indies.
He was also left out for the T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan, which the men in green won.
Pakistan are now involved in the 2025 Asia Cup which is taking place in the UAE.
They started off with a 93-run win over Oman before losing to India by seven wickets.
However, they bounced back with a 41-run win over the UAE to book their spot in the Super Four.
Pakistan’s next match will be against India on September 21 in Dubai.
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