Waqar Younis: “He started feeling like the old Shaheen Afridi and started to swing the ball and the pace was getting better”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis said left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi was looking like his old, dominant self again during the Test series against Australia.
He added that the 23-year-old’s “pace was getting better”, which would have been a major relief for the men in green.
However, Waqar questioned why Afridi missed the third Test in Sydney, especially at a time when he was looking to get back into rhythm.
“He started feeling like the old Shaheen Afridi and started to swing the ball and the pace was getting better,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Afridi ended up taking eight wickets in two Tests against the Baggy Greens at an average of 41.62.
He then captained Pakistan in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand and snapped up nine wickets at an average of 19.22 and an economy rate of 8.94.
Afridi will now captain the Lahore Qalandars in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), which will take place 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