Shahid Afridi: “I supported him a lot because I wasn’t finding an opener of his ability in Pakistan”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Iconic big-hitter Shahid Afridi said he couldn’t find another opener as good as Ahmed Shehzad in Pakistan.
This was the reason why he threw his support behind the 30-year-old and gave him many chances to prove himself at the international level.
Shehzad last played international cricket in October 2019, but is still playing domestic cricket in Pakistan in the hopes of getting back on the national selectors’ radar.
In the Kashmir Premier League (KPL), he hammered 164 runs in five matches for the Rawalakot Hawks, which included two fifties, at an average of 41 and a strike-rate of 132.25.
He wasn’t able to maintain his momentum in the National T20 Cup as he made 68 runs in four games for Central Punjab at an average of 17 and a strike-rate of 111.47.
“I supported him a lot because I wasn’t finding an opener of his ability in Pakistan,” Afridi was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan are now taking on New Zealand and Bangladesh in a T20 tri-series in Christchurch.
They will then participate in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, which gets underway on October 16.
Pakistan’s Squad for T20 Tri-Series against New Zealand and Bangladesh: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Shan Masood, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Qadir, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Khushdil Shah, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jr
Pakistan’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir
Reserves:Â Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani