Shaheen Shah Afridi: “They are performing really well, Hasan and Shan, and everyone performed really well – Haris (Rauf) – so it’s good for Pakistan cricket as well”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi said it’s a good sign for Pakistan that many players have been performing well in county cricket.
Picking three in particular, Afridi was highly impressed with top order batsman Shan Masood and the pace duo of Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf.
Masood has been playing for Derbyshire and is currently the highest run-scorer in Division Two of the County Championship with 991 runs in seven matches, which includes three centuries and four fifties, at an average of 90.09.
His good form has continued in the T20 Blast, where he has amassed 516 runs in 13 games, which includes five half-centuries, at an average of 46.90 and a strike-rate of 142.14.
Hasan, meanwhile, represented Lancashire and took 25 wickets in five matches at an average 20.60.
In regards to Haris, he is playing for Yorkshire and claimed 15 wickets in four games at an average of 31.53.
He has also snapped up four wickets in four T20 Blast matches at an average of 27.75.
“Actually, that’s a good sign for Pakistan cricket – the top cricketers are here. They are performing really well, Hasan and Shan, and everyone performed really well – Haris (Rauf) – so it’s good for Pakistan cricket as well,” Afridi was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Afridi also played county cricket in England, picking up 14 wickets in three matches for Middlesex at an average of 25.42.
Due to their great performances, Afridi, Masood, Hasan and Rauf have been included in Pakistan’s squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka.
The first Test will be held in Galle from July 16 to 20, while the second Test will be played in Colombo from July 24 to 28.
Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka Tests: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood and Yasir Shah