Aaqib Javed: “Shaheen and Naseem both swing the ball very well and can give us an advantage by taking early wickets”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Lahore Qalandars head coach Aaqib Javed believes the pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah can give Pakistan a big advantage by “taking early wickets” since both of them can “swing the ball very well.”
Afridi and Naseem are the go-to fast bowlers for the men in green in all three formats and are often relied on to get early breakthroughs.
Afridi, 23, has already established a reputation for this, while 20-year-old Naseem is starting to show significant improvement bowling with the new ball.
Aaqib noted that if the pair can consistently strike early for Pakistan, it could potentially help the team win more matches.
“Shaheen and Naseem both swing the ball very well and can give us an advantage by taking early wickets,” he was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
Afridi recently represented his country in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, where he took 18 wickets in nine matches at an average of 26.72.
Naseem, meanwhile, was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a shoulder injury during the Asia Cup.
Pakistan started their World Cup campaign with wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before going on a four-game losing streak against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they fought back to take down Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to advance to the semi-finals.
The men in green ended their campaign in disappointing fashion as England battered them by 93 runs.
Afridi will now play in Pakistan’s three-match Test series against Australia, while Naseem was not considered for selection since he is still recovering from his shoulder injury.
The first Test between Pakistan and Australia will start 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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