Ramiz Raja: “I think he has an issue with his fitness”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja believes that pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi is not fully healthy.
Having seen Afridi’s performance in the recent three-match Test series against Australia, Ramiz pointed out that it looked as if the 23-year-old had “an issue with his fitness.”
Afridi only featured in two Tests in the series, which Pakistan lost 3-0, and took eight wickets at an average of 41.62.
“I think he has an issue with his fitness,” Ramiz told Cricwick.
Following the Australia tour, 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.
Next up for Afridi will be the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he will captain the Lahore Qalandars, who have won the last two editions of the tournament.
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 (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