Salman Butt: “He is not somebody who doesn’t know how to bowl in England. So why risk burning out such a bowler especially when he needed rest ahead of the two upcoming World Cups in one year”
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Former Pakistan batsman Salman Butt said Shaheen Shah Afridi shouldn’t have played for Middlesex in the County Championship as he runs the risk of becoming burnt out.
Given how important the left-arm seamer is in all three formats, Salman pointed out that it is essential he gets some much-needed rest.
With so many important tournaments and World Cups coming up, Afridi will no doubt need to be at his best in order to boost Pakistan’s chances of winning.
“He is not somebody who doesn’t know how to bowl in England. So why risk burning out such a bowler especially when he needed rest ahead of the two upcoming World Cups in one year. There is also [the] Test Championship and Asia Cup which are important but county cricket isn’t as far as Shaheen is concerned,” Salman said on the Cricket Baaz YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in July.
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:Â 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