Naseem Shah injured his ACJ joint during clash vs Karachi. Credits - AFP
In a developing update, PSL's franchise RawalPindiz have named a partial replacement for Naseem Shah, who was ruled out of the ongoing season due to an unfortunate injury.
The newly included RawalPindiz are struggling currently on the PSL 2026 points table. Under Mohammad Rizwan's leadership, they have lost all four of their matches, sitting at the bottom of the table.
Although the RawalPindiz's batting has been doing its job, the bowling department has been questionable so far in the tournament. They have just once hit below 180 runs, while the bowlers have snapped just 16 wickets in four innings.
Naseem, who featured in just two games in PSL 2026, didn't do well for the RawalPindiz. He could only snap a solitary wicket in two innings at a woeful economy of 12.16 and a strike rate of 38.
RawalPindiz rope in Mubasir Khan for PSL 2026
As the right-arm quick has been ruled out, the Mohammad Rizwan-led unit has named all-rounder Mubasir Khan as a partial replacement. Meanwhile, Naseem is not totally out of the PSL 2026 and is expected to return towards the end of the tournament.
The Rawalpindi-born is a Pakistan international cricketer, with one T20I match under his belt. Although his debut came during the 2023 Asian Games against Bangladesh, the all-rounder didn't bowl or bat there.
The right-arm offie, who can hit a long ball, has featured in the PSL, playing 14 matches for Islamabad United. Additionally, Khan has played 62 T20s to hit 749 runs at a strike rate of 129 and snap 30 at 7.96.
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RawalPindiz strengthen bowling with Ben Sears
In other news, the RawalPindiz have also signed New Zealand's Ben Sears for a PKR 2.50 crore after having too many injury concerns in their camp. Zaman Khan is already out after dislocating the acromioclavicular (ACJ) joint in his right shoulder in the National T20 Cup 2026. Whereas, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Laurie Evans and Shahzaib Khan are unavailable.
Nevertheless, Sears is a regular in the Blackcaps' T20I set-up. He has played 27 T20Is for his national side, taking 31 at an economy just over 8. Meanwhile, he has also represent the Kiwis in one Test match and four ODIs.
The right-arm fast bowler, known for his raw pace and skiddy bowling style, will add value to their bowling, which already includes Mohammad Amir, Cole McConchie and Rishad Hossain.
Having said that, Sears won't be a part of the squad if RawalPindiz qualify for the playoffs, due to his national duties against Bangladesh. The New Zealand Cricket has released him from the ODI series, but he will link-up with the Kiwis for the T20Is.
What happened with Naseem Shah?
Naseem Shah injured himself during the RawalPindiz vs Karachi Kings clash on April 2, after suffering a side strain injury. He was taken off the field after bowling just one delivery of his third over.
However, another massive controversy involving Naseem broke out even before his PSL team made their debut.
During the inaugural game of the season, the PCB felicitated Punjab's CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif. As the Pakistan board posted a video of it, a reshare from Naseem's official X handle circulated, where the post referred to the Chief Minister as "Queen at the Lord's".
Although the post was deleted within moments, it had already made waves. Later, the Pakistan board fined the 23-year-old paceman PKR 20 million. Naseem later apologised for the same and stated that the derogatory comment was posted by his manager.
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