Former fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed has raised serious questions over Naseem Shah’s inclusion in the national team despite his disappointing performance in the PSL.
According to details, in his recent interview, Tanvir Ahmed strongly criticized the selection committee, saying: “If you selected Naseem Shah for the Bangladesh series and then didn’t even play him, then why was he selected in the first place?”
During the interview, Tanvir Ahmed said, “Naseem Shah’s performance in the PSL was absolutely poor. Look at his fitness level, his run-up and energy while bowling. He’s not putting in any effort. If he has injury issues, then how did he make it into the team?”
Pointing towards possible bias in the selection process, Tanvir Ahmed said that Naseem Shah’s association with Islamabad United may have influenced the decision. “That’s why people are talking — that Islamabad United has influence.”
The former fast bowler said, “When your head coach and other selected players are also connected to the same franchise, then naturally questions will be raised.” He also pointed out that consistently performing players like Mir Hamza and Mohammad Abbas Afridi were ignored, even though they were in excellent form.
Tanvir Ahmed said, “On merit, Naseem Shah does not deserve to be in the team at the moment. Mir Hamza was performing very well in the PSL, so why wasn’t he selected? Abbas Afridi was also overlooked and was only included when Wasim Junior got injured.”
It is worth noting that Naseem Shah had an average PSL 10 season, taking only 9 wickets in 10 matches with an economy rate of 9.30.