Shaheen Shah Afridi: “It’s good for me, as this is my first World Cup, to have very senior players alongside me in the bowling attack”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has admitted that he is glad left-arm seamers Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz have been included in the World Cup squad as they can teach him a lot.

Amir initially failed to make the cut as there were concerns over the fact that since the conclusion of the Champions Trophy in 2017, he had only taken five wickets in 15 ODIs at an average of 92.60.

Wahab was initially not included in the list of 23 probables for the World Cup, but was the third-highest wicket-taker in this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) with 17 wickets in 13 games for the Peshawar Zalmi at an average of 19.88.

However, both of them were included in the finalised World Cup squad, along with big-hitting batsman Asif Ali.

With the trio coming in, left-arm pace bowler Junaid Khan, all-rounder Faheem Ashraf and opener Abid Ali were axed from the side.

Afridi has enjoyed a superb start to his career as he has taken 12 wickets in three Tests at an average of 31.41, 24 wickets in 14 ODIs at an average of 25.54 and 14 wickets in 10 Twenty20 Internationals at an average of 20.57.

With this being his first World Cup, Afridi is hoping to gain as much advice as possible from Amir and Wahab, who played in the 2015 World Cup.

“It’s very good to have them in the squad,” Afridi was quoted as saying by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s website. “It’s good for us and the team to have them back.

“They are very senior and experienced players. They have played a lot of cricket around the world and for Pakistan.

“It’s good for me, as this is my first World Cup, to have very senior players alongside me in the bowling attack.”

Pakistan will begin their World Cup campaign against the West Indies in Nottingham on May 31.

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