Shaheen Shah Afridi: “We need to give him some time”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi has indicated that he doesn’t want batting sensation Saim Ayub discarded from the team following a string of subpar performances.
Ayub has amassed 309 runs in 23 T20Is at an average of 14.71 and a strike-rate of 122.13.
Even though the 22-year-old has shown plenty of promise in domestic cricket, but failed to replicate it at the international level, Afridi isn’t giving up on him and wants him to get more opportunities to prove himself.
“We need to give him some time,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Ayub recently represented Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup and could only muster 23 runs in two games at an average of 11.50 and a strike-rate of 79.31.
Pakistan lost to the United States of America and India before fighting back to defeat Canada and Ireland.
Even though they triumphed in those two games, it was not enough to take them through to the Super Eights.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup:Â 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