Nasser Hussain: “Shaheen Shah Afridi, you know upfront, as we saw in the India-Pakistan game in Dubai last year when he blew away India’s top order. He is absolutely box office”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi is a box office performer.

Afridi is Pakistan’s pace spearhead in all three formats and has developed a habit of taking early wickets, which makes him so deadly with the new ball.

Given the speed he bowls at and the swing he is able to get, the 22-year-old has cut through opposition batting line-ups with ease in the past.

“Shaheen Shah Afridi, you know upfront, as we saw in the India-Pakistan game in Dubai last year when he blew away India’s top order. He is absolutely box office,” Hussain was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on Twitter.

Afridi is currently out of action as he suffered a knee injury during the 2022 T20 World Cup final.

As a result, he was not picked for the three-Test series against England, which Pakistan lost 3-0.

He was also left out of the squad for the upcoming two-Test series against New Zealand, which begins on Monday in Karachi.

After the two Tests, Pakistan and New Zealand will play three ODIs.

Pakistan Squad for New Zealand Test Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Zahid Mehmood

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