Mohammad Amir: “He is a professional bowler, and there is no pressure on his captaincy. It is incorrect to think that captaincy has affected his bowling”
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Pakistan left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir believes there is “no pressure” on Shaheen Shah Afridi as T20I captain and insisted it is wrong for people to think that the leadership role has affected the 23-year-old’s bowling.
Afridi hasn’t been at his best when playing for Pakistan lately as he has struggled to take wickets consistently and has experienced a noticeable drop in speed.
During the three-match Test series against Australia, he finished with eight wickets in two games at an average of 41.62.
He then captained the men in green in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand and claimed nine wickets at an average of 19.22 and an economy rate of 8.94.
Considering the hugely important role Afridi has, questions have been raised about whether the captaincy has taken a toll on his performance. However, Amir was quick to come to his defence, stating that the left-arm speedster is doing just fine and is in no danger of losing the leadership position.
“He is a professional bowler, and there is no pressure on his captaincy. It is incorrect to think that captaincy has affected his bowling,” he told Geo News.
Most recently, Afridi led the Lahore Qalandars in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and picked up 14 wickets in nine matches at an average of 22.14 and an economy rate of 8.61.
Even though he had a good campaign, the Qalandars won’t be able to defend their PSL title as they missed out on the playoffs after winning only one out of their 10 games.
Amir, meanwhile, played for the Quetta Gladiators and snapped up 10 wickets in nine matches at an average of 28.60 and an economy rate of 8.41.
The Gladiators booked their spot in the playoffs, but lost to Islamabad United by 39 runs in Eliminator 1 on March 15, which brought their campaign to an end.
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 9: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Rassie van der Dussen, Haris Rauf, David Wiese, Sahibzada Farhan, Sikandar Raza, Abdullah Shafique, Zaman Khan, Mirza Tahir Baig, Mohammad Imran, Ahsan Hafeez, Dan Lawrence, Jahandad Khan, Syed Faridoun, Shai Hope, Kamran Ghulam, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Tayyab Abbas
Quetta Gladiators Squad for PSL 9: Rilee Rossouw (captain), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sherfane Rutherford, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Wasim, Jason Roy, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammad Hasnain, Abrar Ahmed, Will Smeed, Saud Shakeel, Sajjad Ali, Usman Qadir, Omair Bin Yousuf, Adil Naz, Khawaja Nafay, Akeal Hosein, Sohail Khan, Laurie Evans, Bismillah Khan
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