Babar Azam: “Shaheen is our best bowler”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan batsman Babar Azam believes left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi is the team’s “best bowler” as he constantly delivers incredible performances.
Azam’s comments come after he stepped down as captain in all three formats and Afridi replaced him as T20I skipper. Top order batsman Shan Masood was announced as the 29-year-old’s successor in Tests.
Afridi had not been in the best of form going into the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, but the 23-year-old showed why he is one of the elite bowlers in the world by bouncing back to take 18 wickets in nine matches at an average of 26.72.
“Shaheen is our best bowler,” Azam was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Azam also rediscovered some form during the World Cup, scoring 320 runs in nine matches, which included four half-centuries, at an average of 40.
Pakistan won their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before faltering against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they hit back to defeat Bangladesh and New Zealand, it wasn’t enough to get them into the semi-finals.
The men in green ended their World Cup campaign on a sour note as they lost to England by 93 runs.
Azam and Afridi will now feature in Pakistan’s three-Test series against Australia, which gets underway 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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