Pakistan spinner Yasir Shah: “My performances were good. Earlier I had a knee injury, and they assumed it had returned. I told them that if fitness was the issue, then they should conduct a fitness test. But no such reason was officially given”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan spinner Yasir Shah was unable to explain why he was dropped from the national team, saying “no such reason was officially given.”
Yasir had long been a mainstay of Pakistan’s Test side, claiming 244 wickets in 48 matches at an average of 31.38.
He insisted that his “performances were good” and cannot understand why his international career ended so abruptly, even after he recovered from a knee injury.
“Sometimes these things happen. My performances were good. Earlier I had a knee injury, and they assumed it had returned. I told them that if fitness was the issue, then they should conduct a fitness test. But no such reason was officially given,” the 39-year-old told ARY News.
Yasir has not played for his country since July 2022, while his last domestic match came in March 2025.
The Pakistan team have had a busy schedule as of late, having hosted South Africa at home before taking on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series, and playing a T20I tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
Their next assignment will be a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka in Dambulla from January 7 to 11.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmad, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq