Asad Shafiq: “Never seen Shahid Afridi under pressure as he used to lead in a very cool mood”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Pakistan batsman Asad Shafiq said he never saw big-hitting all-rounder Shahid Afridi under pressure during his tenure as captain.

He noted that Afridi, nicknamed ‘Boom Boom’ for his explosive batting style, “used to lead in a very cool mood”.

In addition to being a dangerous batsman who could score a ton of runs in the blink of an eye, the 42-year-old was also a great bowler as he used to trouble the opposition with his leg-spin and different variations.

“Never seen Shahid Afridi under pressure as he used to lead in a very cool mood,” Shafiq was quoted as saying by Cricwick.

Shafiq is trying to earn a recall to the Pakistan team and has been using domestic cricket as the platform to do so.

He is currently playing for Balochistan in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, where he has accumulated 381 runs in five matches, which includes a century and two fifties, at an average of 42.33.

His last game for Pakistan was a Test match against England in August 2020.

While he has been out of the side for over two years, there is a possibility he could get recalled based on his performances in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, which is Pakistan’s first-class tournament.

Since the national team have had problems with their middle order, the 36-year-old could see himself back in the side, especially if the selectors are looking to inject more experience in the batting line-up.

Right now, Pakistan are featuring in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.

They started with a four-wicket loss to India off the final ball of the game.

Their next fixture will see them face Zimbabwe on Thursday in Perth.

Pakistan’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood

Reserves: Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir

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