Tanvir Ahmed: “None of the first bowlers had performed well, so why Shaheen Shah Afridi was dropped? Is Shaheen Shah Afridi having been dropped from the team due to the workload or attitude?”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed has demanded to know why pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi was dropped for the second Test against Bangladesh.
Afridi featured in the first match and took two wickets at an average of 48.
Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie confirmed that the 24-year-old was not part of the playing XI for the second Test since he was working on certain aspects of his bowling.
However, Tanvir has a sneaking suspicion that it could be due to the speedster’s attitude. This has been a widely reported topic as of late as speculation is rife that he misbehaved with the coaches and team management during the 2024 T20 World Cup.
“None of the first bowlers had performed well, so why Shaheen Shah Afridi was dropped? Is Shaheen Shah Afridi having been dropped from the team due to the workload or attitude? I am not taking Shaheen’s side, but if Shaheen feels he was dropped from the team due to the attitude, then Shaheen merely needs to focus on playing cricket, performance and ignore other things,” Tanvir said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Samaa TV.
Pakistan lost 2-0 to Bangladesh and their next assignment will be a three-Test series against England, which will take place from October 7 to 28.
Currently, Afridi is playing for the Lions in the Champions One-Day Cup, which is a domestic 50-over competition being held in Faisalabad.
In his first two games, he has taken five wickets, with two coming against the Stallions and three against the Panthers.
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
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