Azhar Ali: “The way Naseem and Shaheen have bowled in recent series, I as captain fell very lucky to have them in my squad”

Image courtesy of: Pakistan Cricket Board

Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali has revealed that he feels “very lucky to have” the pace duo of Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi in his team.

Naseem, 17, and Afridi, 20, are expected to play a crucial role with the ball in the upcoming Test series against England.

In the two four-day intra-squad practice matches Pakistan held in Derby, Naseem took a five-for in the first game and followed it up with a four-wicket haul in the second match. Overall, the youngster took a total of 10 wickets in both games.

As for Afridi, he took a total of seven wickets, which included three-wicket hauls in both the first and second matches.

“The way Naseem and Shaheen have bowled in recent series, I as captain fell very lucky to have them in my squad,” Azhar said on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Podcast as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.

The Pakistan team is currently in Derby, but will travel to Manchester on August 1 prior to the start of the Test series.

Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests and three T20 Internationals against England, with the first Test starting on August 5 in Manchester and the T20 series beginning on August 28 at the same venue.

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