'They say Pakistan seamers are the best, I’m like 'No'' - Moeen Ali on Shaheen-Haris-Naseem trio
“There's this perception, especially among people with Pakistani backgrounds, that Pakistan has the best seamers. I'm like, no. They're good, but they're not the best," Moeen said.
Former England spinner Moeen Ali has denied the popular perception, claiming that Pakistan's fast-bowling trio Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf is nowhere near the best in the business.
His remarks come at a time when Pakistan has been facing plenty of criticism after their poor performance at the 2025 Champions Trophy as Mohammad Rizwan and Co. lost to New Zealand and India to crash out of the eight-team event, which they were hosting. Their third and last game against Bangladesh was washed out.
While the batting has already been an area of concern, the bowling department has also failed to deliver for Pakistan. The once-promising pace trio of Shaheen-Naseem-Haris has not been able to generate favourable results and their lack of performance has arguably been one of the key reasons behind Pakistan's downfall. The trio has now seen Pakistan withstand three group-stage exists in as many white-ball ICC events - 2023 ODI World Cup, 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy.
“There's this perception, especially among people with Pakistani backgrounds, that Pakistan has the best seamers. I'm like, no. They're good, but they're not the best, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, and Haris Rauf are good. Don't take me wrong. I am not calling them bad but they are not the best in the business at the moment,” Moeen said while speaking alongside Adil Rashid on the Beard Before Wicket podcast.
Moeen's remarks can be attested by the fact that the three pacers could pick only six wickets combined in the Champions Trophy. However, he acknowledged Pakistan's coaching system for producing match-winning pacers in the past.
“Pakistan have this thing where they do produce very good fast bowlers. Again, it’s something in their coaching system where they coach Pakistanis unbelievably well,” he added.
Meanwhile, all three will be in action during Pakistan’s white-ball series against New Zealand, starting from March 16 in Christchurch. While Afridi and Rauf have been named in five-match T20I series squad, Naseem has been included in the ODI unit.
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