Waqar Younis: “I don’t know if there is a problem with his fitness”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis has questioned if pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has a “problem with his fitness.”
Afridi had not been in the best of form going into the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, which raised concerns about how he was going to perform in the tournament.
However, he ended up being Pakistan’s best bowler, taking 18 wickets in nine matches, including a five-for against champions Australia, at an average of 26.72.
Despite this, Waqar can’t shake off the feeling that something wasn’t right with the 23-year-old, who was recently appointed as Pakistan’s T20I captain.
“I don’t know if there is a problem with his fitness,” he told AFP as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan won their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing four in a row to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite hitting back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
The men in green ended their World Cup campaign in disappointing fashion as they lost to England by 93 runs.
Afridi will now represent Pakistan in their three-match Test series against Australia, which will begin on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series:Â Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
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