Jason Gillespie: “Shaheen Afridi is a three formats player for Pakistan. We want Shaheen back with complete performance and fitness”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie said there is no denying that left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi is a three-format player.
Afridi is the leader of the pace attack in Tests, ODIs and T20Is, but has experienced a dip in form lately.
During the recent two-Test series against Bangladesh, he only featured in the first Test and took two wickets at an average of 48.
It should be noted that there have been concerns about Afridi’s workload as he has suffered a number of injuries over the past couple of years. Additionally, people have seen a noticeable dip in his bowling speed, which they feel has affected his ability to be an elite wicket-taker.
No doubt aware of the issues with Afridi’s bowling, Gillespie pointed out that the 24-year-old holds a pivotal role in the team, making it important that his performance and fitness are constantly at the highest level.
“Shaheen Afridi is a three formats player for Pakistan. We want Shaheen back with complete performance and fitness,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Arfa Feroz Zake on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Afridi is now captaining the Lions in the Champions One-Day Cup, which is a domestic 50-over tournament taking place in Faisalabad.
So far, he has claimed nine wickets in four matches at an average of 29.33.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a three-Test series against England, which is scheduled to be played from October 7 to 28 in Multan and Rawalpindi.
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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