Kamran Akmal: “Pakistan rested Shaheen Shah Afridi, which is not a strategic move. We have [the] World Cup on our head and he should be playing 50 overs format maximum [times]”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Kamran Akmal, the former wicketkeeper-batsman, admitted he was shocked that Pakistan decided to rest pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi for one game during the five-match ODI series against New Zealand.
He noted that with the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup fast approaching, all the main players in the Pakistan team should be playing every ODI to ensure they are firing on all cylinders in the 50-over format.
Afridi featured in four ODIs against the Black Caps, where he took eight wickets at an average of 24.50.
“Pakistan rested Shaheen Shah Afridi, which is not a strategic move. We have [the] World Cup on our head and he should be playing 50 overs format maximum [times],” Akmal was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Afridi is currently representing Pakistan in their two-Test series against Sri Lanka and began by taking five wickets in the first Test in Galle, which the men in green won by four wickets.
The second Test will be held in Colombo and begin on July 24.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka Test Series:Â Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Muhammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood