Shahid Afridi: “We developed a Test player; he fell ill, received treatment, and recovered. I’m talking about Abid Ali; where is that guy? I don’t understand”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Shahid Afridi, the legendary all-rounder, has questioned why opening batsman Abid Ali hasn’t been picked since recovering from a health issue.
Abid had been Pakistan’s first-choice opener in Test cricket until he suffered chest pains while batting during Central Punjab’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in December 2021.
He was diagnosed with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and underwent two angioplasty surgeries.
Considering the 35-year-old from Lahore had a Test average of 49.16 before falling ill, Afridi wants to know why the selectors have thrown him aside for no reason.
“We developed a Test player; he fell ill, received treatment, and recovered. I’m talking about Abid Ali; where is that guy? I don’t understand,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan have been in good form as of late as they defeated Sri Lanka 2-0 in a Test series before registering a 3-0 whitewash over Afghanistan in an ODI series.
Right now, they are featuring in the Asia Cup, where they have battered Nepal by 238 runs, shared one point apiece with India after their match was abandoned due to rain, and thumped Bangladesh by seven wickets. However, their unbeaten streak was broken by India, who demolished them by 228 runs in the Super Four stage.
Pakistan will be back in action on September 14 when they play their Super Four match against Sri Lanka 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