Pakistan's Mystery Spinner Mocks Mohsin Naqvi's PCB For ODI Snub Against Bangladesh

Pakistan spinner mocks PCB and Navi after ODI snub [Source: AFP]

Pakistan on Wednesday revealed its ODI squad for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh. As reports circulated earlier, all the underperforming players from the T20 World Cup 2026 were left out of the team, while youngsters were given a chance to seal their place in the side.

In a surprising turn of events, the selectors dropped Babar Azam and Saim Ayub from the ODI setup. The duo failed in the World Cup but had done well in the 50-overs format, but despite that, they faced omission from the side.

Forgotten spinner mocks PCB with Instagram post

Another player who was neglected by the selection panel was the mystery spinner, Sufiyan Muqeem. The bowler started his international career on a promising note, but last year was tough on him, especially with Abrar Ahmed becoming Pakistan’s number one spinner.

After once again facing rejection from the PCB, Muqeem decided to vent out his frustration on Instagram by posting a story, targeting the Mohsin Naqvi-led PCB. He posted a story with a laughing emoji, seemingly indicating his distress with the PCB for ignoring him.

Sheri.

@CallMeSheri1_

Sufiyan Muqeem's Instagram story. - He's not part of the ODI squad for the Bangladesh tour.

Mar 4, 2026, 7:00 PM

There were no written words in the story, but fans have speculated that the laughing emoji indicates his frustration with the board.

Did Muqeem deserve to be included in the ODI squad?

Purely on the basis of statistics, Muqeem should have been included in the Pakistan squad for the Bangladesh series. Before Usman Tariq’s arrival, he was Pakistan’s mystery spinner, and Muqeem had an interesting List-A and ODI record.

In four ODIs for Pakistan, Muqeem had taken 8 wickets, with an average of 22.75, and an economy of 4.91. On the other hand, he has played 20 List-A games in Pakistan and has recorded 39 dismissals, with an economy of 4.66.

Also Read: Sahibzada Farhan Rewarded: Biggest Talking Points From Pakistan’s Squad For Bangladesh ODIs

The team included other spinners for the Bangladesh ODIs, but if picking youngsters was the criteria, Muqeem should have been considered.

How Muqeem could have been useful against Bangladesh

Bangladesh pitches are all about spin, as they tend to dominate the proceedings. Expect nothing different as spinners will once again play an important role in deciding the series outcome. Muqeem, being a Chinaman spinner, would have been difficult to deal with on such wickets.

Bangladesh batters are not the best when it comes to tackling quality spin-bowlers, and Muqeem would have been useful against them, especially considering his brilliant record in the List-A matches.

How Muqeem was sidelined by the PCB selectors

Muqeem burst on the scene against Zimbabwe in a T20I game, when the wrist-spinner scalped 5 wickets for just 3 runs, and this was the best figures recorded by a Pakistan bowler in T20Is.

After this, everyone expected Muqeem to dominate the opposition across formats, but then the selectors diverted towards Abrar Ahmed, and Muqeem was sidelined. Despite performing well in the domestic circuit, the selectors persisted with Abrar, and he was followed by Usman Tariq as Muqeem was completely snubbed.

Pakistan squad for Bangladesh ODIs

Shaheen Afridi (c), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, F Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, H Talat, M Sadaqat, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), M Wasim, Ghazi Ghori (wk), Saad Masood, S Farhan, Salman Ali Agha and Shamyl Hussain

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