Tanveer Ahmed Questions Absence of Spinners in Second T20I

MIRPUR: Former Pakistan fast bowler Tanveer Ahmed has raised concerns regarding the exclusion of spinners Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem from the playing XI for the second T20I between Pakistan and Bangladesh, held at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Tuesday.

Expressing his views on X, formerly known as Twitter, Tanveer questioned the decision, stating, “Is it the right call to leave out Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem?”

Abrar participated in the series’ initial match on Sunday, where Pakistan faced defeat in a low-scoring encounter at the same venue. He remained scoreless with the bat and conceded 20 runs in his four overs without taking a wicket.

Sufiyan’s last appearance for Pakistan in the T20I format was against New Zealand in March of this year; he has represented Pakistan in 10 T20Is.

In the second match, Bangladesh were all out for 133 runs in their first innings, with Jaker Ali scoring an impressive 55 off 48 balls. Mahedi Hasan added 33 off 25 deliveries, but the remaining batsmen struggled to contribute significantly.

On the bowling side, debutants Ahmed Daniyal, Salman Mirza, and Abbas Afridi each claimed two wickets, while Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Nawaz took one wicket each.

Bangladesh currently holds a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series, having successfully chased down Pakistan’s target of 111 runs in the first game, largely due to a half-century from Parvez Hossain Emon.

Pakistan playing XI: Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris (WK), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha(C), Mohammad Nawaz, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Abbas Afridi, Salman Mirza, Ahmed Daniyal

Bangladesh playing XI: Parvez Hossain Emon, Naim Sheikh, Litton Das (C/WK), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman