Rashid Latif: “In Test cricket, he has to improve. I think he is a bit too quick to react”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Ex-Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif said left-arm pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has to be smarter when bowling in Test matches.
Using Pakistan’s three-Test series against Australia as an example, the former captain pointed out that Afridi couldn’t get Nathan Lyon out despite trying to bowl quick and utilise many bouncers.
As a result, he had to prolong the amount of time he spent bowling, which would have drained his energy and made him more tired.
“In Test cricket, he has to improve. I think he is a bit too quick to react. If you see Nathan Lyon came [out to] bat as [the] nightwatchman. He bowled very quickly and a lot of bouncers. Now he couldn’t get him out but then had to bowl throughout the day. These little smart moves, he has to learn them,” Latif told Cricket Den as quoted by Cricwick.Â
Afridi was in England earlier on, where he took 14 wickets in three County Championship games for Middlesex at an average of 25.42.
He then snapped up three wickets in two ODIs against the West Indies at an average of 24.
He will now be preparing for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which will be held in Galle and Colombo from July 16 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