Mohammad Amir: “It is very important that he takes wickets in the initial few overs. If he doesn’t get wickets, it could be a problem”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir has admitted that if pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi doesn’t take early wickets with the new ball, it could be a huge problem for the men in green.
Afridi has developed a reputation for being one of the most dangerous new ball bowlers in the world as he regularly strikes in his first couple of overs.
Since Pakistan have come to rely on this to a certain degree, Amir noted that the 23-year-old has to ensure he keeps delivering time and time again.
“It is very important that he takes wickets in the initial few overs. If he doesn’t get wickets, it could be a problem,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Afridi recently featured in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and snapped up 18 wickets in nine matches, which included a five-for against champions Australia, at an average of 26.72.
Pakistan kicked things off with back-to-back wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before falling to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
They stopped their four-game skid and kept their semi-final hopes alive by beating Bangladesh and New Zealand.
However, the failed to make it to the final four and lost their last group stage match against England by 93 runs.
Afridi, who was recently appointed T20I captain, will now feature in Pakistan’s three-match Test series against Australia, which gets underway 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
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