Colombo: Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez has questioned the omission of Fakhar Zaman and Naseem Shah from the playing XI for Pakistan’s must-win group-stage match against Namibia at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Sinhala Sports Club on Wednesday.
Hafeez took to his social media platform X to express his surprise at the team selection.
“So both Faqar Zaman and Naseem Shah were not in the first plan, nor were they in the second or third plan. Interestingly,” Hafeez wrote.
Pakistan made two changes to its XI for the final group-stage game, notably bringing in Khawaja Nafe and Salman Mirza in place of Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed.
Salman Mirza took 3/24 from four overs in Pakistan’s opener against the Netherlands. The fast bowler has taken 22 wickets in 14 T20 matches at an economy rate of 6.36.
Earlier in the match, after winning the toss and opting to field, Pakistan opted for spin. However, the strategy backfired as the Indian national cricket team finished at 175/5 in 20 overs, powered by Ishan Kishan’s magnificent half-century.
Abrar Ahmed conceded 38 runs in three overs, while Shatab Khan went wicketless and leaked 17 runs in one over. Among the fast bowlers, Shaheen Afridi stood out with figures of 1/31 in two overs.
In reply, Pakistan were bowled out for 114 runs in 18 overs.
The Green Shirts are currently third in Group A with two wins and one loss, a net run rate of -0.403.
A win against Namibia – or a wash-out – could see Pakistan leapfrog the second-placed United States national cricket team with four points and a better net run rate and qualify for the Super Eight stage.
Pakistan playing XI for Namibia clash: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (catch), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Khawaja Nafe, Shatab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza and Usman Tariq.
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