Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi: “I don’t know why we have made it a big topic over the last one year that there is workload, players are getting injured”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi has questioned why his workload has become such a big topic.
Afridi suffered back-to-back knee injuries in 2022, after which he has struggled to have the same impact with the ball.
Following those two injuries, questions were raised about whether the 24-year-old was playing too many games and not getting enough rest.
However, Afridi has made it clear that he is not concerned about his workload, especially when considering how much some of Pakistan’s greatest fast bowlers like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis used to bowl back in the day.
“First of all, if you are saying that I have bowled the most in the world (among bowlers in Test cricket)… but if you look in the past, all our legends bowlers Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, at that time there was no workload issue,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
“I don’t know why we have made it a big topic over the last one year that there is workload, players are getting injured. We are considering it more important. It depends individually on the players, how they play in particular formats. You need to be mentally fit and strong on how to react in different circumstances.
“It’s a small period where you need support from the management and close ones, who need to give you positive messages. I don’t know about the workload, it isn’t that much but I feel that everyone should enjoy regardless of the format.”
Afridi recently featured in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Bangladesh, but only played one match and took two wickets at an average of 48.
He then captained the Lions in the Champions One-Day Cup, which was a domestic 50-over competition held in Faisalabad, and claimed nine wickets in four games at an average of 29.33.
Following this, he took part in the first Test against England and picked up one wicket at an average of 120.
Afridi was rested for the second Test in Multan, which Pakistan won by 152 runs, and won’t take part in the third Test as well, which begins on October 24 in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan Squad for 2nd and 3rd Tests against England: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Zahid Mahmood.