Sarfaraz Ahmed: “I will pick Mohammad Amir because of his experience”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has admitted that he would rather pick left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir over Shaheen Shah Afridi to defend 15 runs in the final over.
Sarfaraz attributed his decision to Amir’s experience, even though Afridi is Pakistan’s pace spearhead and one of the team’s go-to death bowlers.
Amir retired from international cricket in December 2020, but reversed that decision after the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he took 10 wickets in nine matches for the Quetta Gladiators at an average of 28.60 and an economy rate of 8.41.
This means the 31-year-old will be available for selection for the national team in the lead-up to the 2024 T20 World Cup in June.
“I will pick Mohammad Amir because of his experience,” Sarfaraz was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
It should be noted that Afridi captained the Lahore Qalandars in PSL 9 and claimed 14 wickets in nine games at an average of 22.14 and an economy rate of 8.61.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a five-match T20I series against New Zealand in Rawalpindi and Lahore from April 18 to 27.
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
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