Pakistan national cricket team fast bowler Naseem Shah has spoken out against former players who take personal digs at the current squad. He feels that criticism should be about performance rather than irrelevant personal attacks.

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Pakistan cricket has been struggling lately. The team crashed out early from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at home continuing a streak of poor results. They also had disappointing exits in the 2023 ODI World Cup, 2024 T20 World Cup, and ended at the bottom of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.

Every failure brings a wave of harsh criticism especially from ex-players. While constructive feedback is fair Naseem believes some comments cross the line.

Speaking to GeoSuper.tv, Naseem expressed frustration over how former players critique the current squad.

"As a fan, if you watch cricket and someone says something that doesn’t make sense to you, you might think, 'Oh, this person has never played cricket.' When we go home, even our own brothers sometimes make comments that make us say, 'Yeah, okay, they’ve never played cricket," he said.

"But when it comes to players who have actually played cricket for 10-15 years, you can discuss their performance—talk about how someone isn’t bowling well, isn’t batting well, or what mistakes they’re making. That’s fine. You can analyze what can be improved. However, I feel that getting too personal—commenting on how someone styles their hair or how they speak—crosses the line. These things hit personally."

He added that players expect criticism about their game but mocking personal traits is unnecessary.

Naseem admitted that criticism from fans is easier to handle. He understands their passion for the game and knows it comes from an emotional place. However hearing non-cricket-related remarks from former players feels different.

"Fans make comments, and that’s understandable because they watch cricket passionately. Even when we were kids, we’d criticize the team when they lost. But if you’ve played cricket for 15 years and still make comments that have nothing to do with the game, it does hurt," he added.