Mohammad Amir: “I think Naseem Shah has been wrongly benched. In my opinion, Salman Mirza and Naseem Shah should play together”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan speedster Mohammad Amir believes pace bowler Naseem Shah “has been wrongly benched” and deserves a place in the T20I line-up.
Naseem only got the chance to play one match during the 2026 T20 World Cup, where he took one wicket.
Given his quality, Amir feels Pakistan should be making better use of the 23-year-old by pairing him with fellow fast bowler Salman Mirza, who has become a regular in the squad.
“I think Naseem Shah has been wrongly benched. In my opinion, Salman Mirza and Naseem Shah should play together,” he was quoted as saying by TOK Sports.
Naseem recently featured in the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he picked up two wickets in three games for Rawalpindiz at an average of 43 and an economy rate of 10.32 before his campaign was cut short by a side strain.
Following the PSL, Pakistan played two Tests against Bangladesh and three ODIs against Australia, but Naseem did not take part in any of those matches.
He also hasn’t been selected for Pakistan’s upcoming Test tours of the West Indies and England. Instead, his younger brother Ubaid Shah could potentially make his international debut after being picked.
The men in green will face the West Indies in two Tests in Trinidad and Tobago from July 25 to August 6 before heading to England to play three Tests from August 19 to September 13.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
Pakistan Squad for England Test series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah