Shan Masood: “He is our main player”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood said left-arm pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi is the team’s “main player”, indicating that he is in no danger of being dropped.
Questions were raised about Afridi during the recent three-match Test series against Australia as he struggled to pick up wickets regularly and was bowling slower than usual.
Despite picking up eight wickets in two Tests at an average of 41.62, Masood has vowed to continue backing the 23-year-old, who is seen as Pakistan’s pace spearhead in all three formats.
“He is our main player,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Following the Test series against Australia, Afridi made his debut as T20I captain in the five-match series against New Zealand and claimed nine wickets at an average of 19.22 and an economy rate of 8.94.
He will now captain the Lahore Qalandars in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), while Masood will lead the Karachi Kings.
PSL 9 will be played from February 17 to March 18 in four cities – Lahore, Multan, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 9: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Haris Rauf, David Wiese, Sikandar Raza, Abdullah Shafique, Zaman Khan, Mirza Tahir Baig, Rashid Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Ahsan Bhatti, Dan Lawrence, Jahandad Khan, Syed Faridoun Mahmood, Shai Hope, Kamran Ghulam, Rassie van der Dussen
Karachi Kings Squad for PSL 9: Shan Masood (captain), James Vince, Hasan Ali, Shoaib Malik, Tabraiz Shamsi, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Akhlaq, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Tim Seifert, Mohammad Amir Khan, Anwar Ali, Arafat Minhas, Sirajuddin, Saad Baig, Jamie Overton