Former Pakistan pacer questions Ghazi Ghori's selection over Saad Baig

KARACHI: Former Pakistan fast bowler Tanveer Ahmed has raised concerns over the selection of young wicketkeeper-batter Ghazi Ghori ahead of in-form Saad Baig in the national squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh next month.

Taking to social media platform X, Tanveer expressed strong frustration over the selectors’ recent decisions, questioning the criteria being used for national team selection. 

He pointed to what he described as a disconnect between domestic performances and international call-ups, arguing that consistent performers were being overlooked.

“Saad Baig’s current season performance: 10 matches, 1000 runs, ranked No. 1. He was not included in the Test squad against Bangladesh,” Tanveer wrote.

“Ghazi Ghori, who is he and on what basis is he selected? He has zero performance, has played only one match this season, yet he has been included in the Test team. I curse this kind of selection,” he added.

The former pacer further commented on ongoing domestic cricket performances and selection debates, stressing that short-term rankings or performances in a single tournament should not outweigh long-term consistency across competitions. 

He emphasised that players should be judged on sustained output rather than isolated performances.

“If Ghazi Ghori is at number 2 in the President’s Trophy, so what? He has played only one match in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Saad Baig, on the other hand, has scored 1,400 runs in 17 matches across both the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the President’s Trophy,” he stated.

Saad Baig has been one of the standout performers in the domestic circuit, representing Karachi Blues in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2025–26. 

He finished as the leading run-scorer with 1000 runs in 10 matches at an average of 55.55, including three half-centuries and four centuries.

In contrast, Ghazi Ghori featured in only one match in the same tournament, where he scored 83 runs for Karachi Blues. 

However, in the President’s Trophy 2025–26, he emerged as the second-highest run-scorer for the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), accumulating 531 runs in seven matches at an average of 48.27, including two centuries and one fifty.

The upcoming Test series, part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025–27 cycle, will begin with the first Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka from 8 to 12 May. 

The second Test will be played at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium from 16 to 20 May.

Shan Masood will continue to lead the side, while four uncapped players — Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais and Ghazi Ghori — have earned call-ups to the squad.

The team will assemble in Karachi on 27 April for a training camp running until 1 May, before departing for Bangladesh on 2 May.

Pakistan squad for Bangladesh Test series:

Shan Masood (c), Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Ghazi Ghori (wk), Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.