Nasser Hussain: “Pakistan needs to rest and rotate its fast bowlers. Both Naseem and Shaheen are like gold dust and you need to be very careful with both of them playing all three formats”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former England captain Nasser Hussain said the Pakistan pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah are as valuable as gold dust.
Given how much they bring to the table, he urged the selectors and team management to keep a close eye on their workload as they are representing the men in green in all three formats.
Since they are both young, with Afridi being 22 and Naseem 19, Hussain pointed out that the last thing Pakistan would want is to have them succumb to injuries regularly.
Therefore, he noted that it is essential the team “rest and rotate its fast bowlers” in order for the main quicks to get some much-needed rest and relaxation at certain times.
“Pakistan needs to rest and rotate its fast bowlers. Both Naseem and Shaheen are like gold dust and you need to be very careful with both of them playing all three formats,” he told Cricwick.
Afridi has been out of action with a knee injury for the past few months and missed Pakistan’s entire home season, which included series against England and New Zealand.
As for Naseem, he featured in one out of the three Tests against England and took five wickets.
He also played one out of the two Tests against New Zealand and picked up four wickets.
In regards to the three-match ODI series against the Black Caps, he finished with eight wickets in two games at an average of 14.37.
Afridi is set to return for the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he will captain the Lahore Qalandars, who are the reigning champions.
Naseem, meanwhile, will represent the Quetta Gladiators in PSL 8, which will be held from February 13 to March 19 in Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.
The Qalandars will be in action on opening night as they face the Multan Sultans, who they beat in the final in PSL 7.
As for the Gladiators, their first match will be against the Sultans on February 15.
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 8: Fakhar Zaman, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, David Wiese, Hussain Talat, Haris Rauf, Abdullah Shafique, Liam Dawson, Sikander Raza, Ahmad Daniyal, Dilbar Hussain, Harry Brook, Kamran Ghulam, Mirza Tahir Baig, Shawaiz Irfan, Zaman Khan, Jalat Khan and Jordan Cox, Ahsan Bhatti, Sam Billings, Shane Dadswell and Kusal Mendis
Quetta Gladiators Squad for PSL 8:Â Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Wanindu Hasaranga, Iftikhar Ahmed, Jason Roy, Odean Smith, Ahsan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Zahid, Naveen-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Umaid Asif, Will Smeed, Aimal Khan, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Martin Guptill, Omair Bin Yousuf, Qais Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Dwaine Pretorius, Will Jacks and Nuwan Thushara