Shahid Afridi: “Usama has performed well, but he has not been consistent with his bowling”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan power-hitter Shahid Afridi admitted that while spinner Usama Mir has performed well as of late, he hasn’t been consistent enough to get into the national team.
Mir had previously been given an opportunity to cement his spot in the national team, but failed to do so as he was unable to take wickets regularly.
However, the 28-year-old from Sialkot regained his form in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he finished as the highest wicket-taker with 24 wickets in 12 matches for the Multan Sultans at an average of 15.87 and an economy rate of 8.13.
Following the completion of PSL 9, Mir featured in Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand and claimed three wickets in two games at an average of 21.33 and an economy rate of eight.
However, he was overlooked for the T20I series against Ireland and England, which Afridi thought was probably the right decision.
“Usama has performed well, but he has not been consistent with his bowling,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
The men in green won their T20I series against Ireland 2-1, but lost 2-0 to England.
Mir wasn’t part of Pakistan’s 2024 T20 World Cup team, which lost to the United States of America and India before bouncing back to beat Canada and Ireland.
Despite claiming those two wins, it wasn’t enough to get Pakistan through to the Super Eights.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed