Junaid Khan: “He is the backbone of the Pakistan team”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Junaid Khan firmly believes that fellow left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi is the “backbone of the Pakistan team.”
Considering that he has been entrusted as the pace spearhead in all three formats, Junaid wants the 23-year-old to bring the heat every time as the men in green rely on him to take wickets.
In the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which the men in green won 2-0, Afridi claimed six wickets at an average of 37.33.
He followed that up with six wickets in three ODIs against Afghanistan at an average of 16.33.
“He is the backbone of the Pakistan team,” Junaid said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Afridi is now taking part in the Asia Cup, where he has snapped up eight wickets in four matches at an average of 22.87.
Pakistan have done well in the tournament as they hammered Nepal by 238 runs, shared one point apiece with India after their match was ruined by rain, and thrashed Bangladesh by seven wickets. However, they were handed their first loss by India when the men in blue crushed them by 228 runs in the Super Four stage.
Pakistan will look to get their Asia Cup campaign back on track when they go up against Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir