Shaheen Shah Afridi: “I appreciated Khawaja Nafay after the match because he played a very special innings. I was also [the] find of the PSL and it was heartening to see such a young player play shots like he did. He’s a future star Inshallah”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi believes batsman Khawaja Nafay is a “future star” in the making.
His prediction comes after Nafay was one of the standout young performers in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Playing for the Quetta Gladiators, the 22-year-old made his highest score of the tournament against the Lahore Qalandars, who were captained by Afridi.
In that match, Nafay smashed an unbeaten 60 off 31 balls, which included four boundaries and three sixes, to lead the Gladiators to a five-wicket win.
Having witnessed the youngster’s firepower firsthand, Afridi admits he has a very bright future ahead of him.
“I appreciated Khawaja Nafay after the match because he played a very special innings. I was also [the] find of the PSL and it was heartening to see such a young player play shots like he did. He’s a future star Inshallah,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Nafay ended up scoring 182 runs in 10 games in PSL 9, which included a top score of 60 not out, at an average of 22.75 and a strike-rate of 121.33.
As for Afridi, he finished with 14 wickets in nine matches at an average of 22.14 and an economy rate of 8.61.
Pakistan are now involved in a five-match T20I series against New Zealand and Afridi took three wickets in the second T20I, which the men in green won by seven wickets.
Pakistan hold a 1-0 series lead ahead of the third T20I, which will be played on April 21 in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand T20I Series: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Zaman Khan
Non-travelling reserves: Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha
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