Shan Masood: “We’ll make sure we look after Shaheen Afridi really well”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood has vowed not to overwork left-arm speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi as he is a crucial member of the team in all three formats.
Afridi’s workload has been a hotly debated topic over the past couple of years, especially since he suffered back-to-back knee injuries in 2022.
During the recent three-Test series against Australia, Pakistan opted to take a cautious approach with the 23-year-old as he played the first two games before being rested for the third Test.
Afridi finished the series with eight wickets at an average of 41.62.
Knowing how important Afridi is, Masood confirmed that he and the team management will continue to keep a close eye on him and give him adequate time to rest and recuperate.
“We’ll make sure we look after Shaheen Afridi really well,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Following the Australia tour, Afridi made his debut as T20I captain in Pakistan’s five-match series against New Zealand and took nine wickets at an average of 19.22 and an economy rate of 8.94.
He will now lead the Lahore Qalandars in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), while Masood will be in charge of the Karachi Kings.
PSL 9 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 (reserved), Fakhar Zaman, Rassie van der Dussen, Sahibzada Farhan, Muhammad Imran Jnr., Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti, Dan Lawrence (partially available), Jahandad Khan, Syed Faridoun Mahmood, Shai Hope, Kamran Ghulam, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Tayyab Abbas
Karachi Kings Squad for PSL 9: Shan Masood (captain), James Vince, Hasan Ali, Shoaib Malik, Tabraiz Shamsi, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Akhlaq, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Kieron Pollard (partially available), Zahid Mehmood, Daniel Sams, Mohammad Nawaz, Tim Seifert (reserved), Mohammad Amir Khan, Anwar Ali, Arafat Minhas, Sirajuddin, Saad Baig, Jamie Overton, Leus Du Plooy, Mohammad Rohid
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