Eoin Morgan: “Shaheen Shah Afridi loves the big stage”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former England captain Eoin Morgan said Pakistan left-arm seamer and newly-appointed T20I captain Shaheen Shah Afridi “loves the big stage.”
Afridi generally delivers strong performances in major tournaments and did so once again in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup despite getting off to a slow start.
The 23-year-old finished with 18 wickets in nine matches, which included a five-for against champions Australia, at an average of 26.72.
“Shaheen Shah Afridi loves the big stage,” Morgan was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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 fighting back to take down Bangladesh and New Zealand, they fell short in their bid to reach the semi-finals.
Pakistan’s campaign ended in disappointing fashion as England demolished them by 93 runs.
Afridi will now play for Pakistan in their upcoming three-match Test series against Australia, which starts on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: 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