Ahmed Shehzad: “You need to form the playing XI for winning matches rather than forming the team to adjust or save any player like Shaheen Shah Afridi or Naseem Shah. You cannot take such steps”
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Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad has told Test captain Shan Masood that he has to stop trying to save players like the pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah.
He noted that Masood has to pick the best playing XI for every match and reward cricketers who are doing well. For those who are not pulling their weight, they need to be dropped or rested so that they can take the necessary steps to get back to their best.
With the men in green not having achieved great results as of late, Shehzad highlighted the importance of getting wins on the board in order to instil some confidence amongst the players.
“You [have] got to ensure to produce quality cricket from your players. You need to form the playing XI for winning matches rather than forming the team to adjust or save any player like Shaheen Shah Afridi or Naseem Shah. You cannot take such steps,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Samaa TV.
Pakistan recently took on Bangladesh in a tw0-Test series and surprisingly lost 2-0 even though both matches were played in Rawalpindi.
Afridi and Naseem both only featured in the first Test, taking two wickets and three wickets respectively.
They are now involved in the Champions One-Day Cup, which is a domestic 50-over competition being held in Faisalabad.
Next up for them will be a three-match Test series against England, which will be played from October 7 to 28.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi