Former Pakistan fast bowler, Aaqib Javed, has voiced his opinion, ranking Zaman Khan above Naseem Shah in the realm of white-ball cricket.
Aaqib, in a presser, accentuated Zaman's extraordinary talents in the shorter format of cricket, specifically commending his mastery as a bowler during the crucial death overs.
"In white-ball cricket, the skills that Zaman Khan has, we have recently been in Canada, I think he is one of the best death ball bowlers in the world right now. I rate him higher than Naseem in white-ball cricket," he said.
In a lighthearted moment, the former pacer humorously acknowledged the potential bias towards Lahore Qalandars, the team he has been associated with.
"You'll say that I'm only rooting for the bowlers from Lahore Qalandars [laughs]. Shaheen, Haris and Zaman, they should be your bowlers in white-ball cricket and then you can go down to Naseem Shah," he added.
Inzamam-ul-Haq, the head of the national men’s selection committee, on Wednesday announced squads for the ACC Men's Asia Cup and the three-match One-Day International series against Afghanistan.
Inzamam selected Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Faheem Ashraf as pacers, and explained the reason for Zaman’s exclusion.
"Zaman Khan has done well with the white-ball but he lacks experience in 50-over games, but he does have the potential as we have seen in T20 games where he has performed well. So he will become a good asset for Pakistan if he plays more first class games," Inzamam said.