Mohammad Amir has criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over the squad announced for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh. The former left-arm pacer claims the selection was not made with the 2027 ODI World Cup in mind.
The PCB announced the 15-member squad yesterday, naming Shaheen Shah Afridi as captain. Notably, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, and Syed Ayyub were excluded, with Babar’s omission drawing the most attention. Babar had scored a century in last November’s ODI series against Sri Lanka. The squad also includes six new players, five of whom have no prior international experience.
Amir questioned the PCB’s planning, saying:
“With only eight months left until the World Cup, will those selected for the Bangladesh series feature in the main squad? If the new players fail, will those left out be recalled? The team’s future strategy needs to be clear.”
Pakistan exited the 2026 T20 World Cup at the Super 8 stage. Saim Ayub took five wickets but scored less than 100 runs, while Babar also struggled in the T20 format. Due to poor form, neither played in the decisive ‘do-or-die’ match against Sri Lanka, where Pakistan fell short by five runs.
Amir raised questions over the reasoning behind their exclusion from the ODI squad:
“Were Saim and Babar left out based on T20 performances, or was this unrelated to that format? If it was due to form, which ODIs would they have played to return?”
Ahmed Shehzad echoed Amir’s concerns, adding:
“Was Babar consulted before being left out? If he has harmed Pakistan cricket, clarify that. Otherwise, treating him this way is inappropriate.”
Mohammad Yousuf also expressed surprise, tweeting that including Babar in the T20 World Cup was already unusual, and now dropping him is even more shocking.
The Bangladesh-Pakistan ODI series is scheduled for 11, 13, and 15 March in Mirpur. However, rising tensions in the Middle East following a joint Israel–US strike on Iran, and Iran’s retaliatory attack, have raised questions about the tour. Geo Super reports that the series will proceed only if there are no security or travel risks. The Pakistan team is due to arrive on 8 March.
Of the six newcomers, only Farhan has previous international T20 experience. The remaining five—Abdul Samad, Maj Sadakat, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Saad Masood, and Shamail Hossain—are yet to play at the senior international level. Four of them recently played for the Pakistan Shaheens against the England Lions in Abu Dhabi, but the remainder of that series was cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East.
To qualify directly for the 2027 ODI World Cup, Pakistan must be among the top eight in the ODI rankings by 31 March next year. Currently, Pakistan is fourth with 104 points, South Africa is fifth with 98, Zimbabwe 11th with 54, and Bangladesh 10th with 76 points.
