Shaun Tait: “Pakistan has a seriously good pace bowling attack. Once you get Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf together, they are tough to beat”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Australia speedster Shaun Tait said Pakistan have a “seriously good pace bowling attack” and picked Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf as his go-to seamers.
He noted that if all three bowlers are firing, the men in green “are tough to beat”.
The trio were recently in action in Pakistan’s limited overs series against Australia, which consisted of three ODIs and three T20Is.
In the ODI series, Rauf led the way with 10 wickets, which included a five-wicket haul, at an average of 12, while Afridi claimed eight wickets at an average of 12.62.
Naseem, meanwhile, snapped up five wickets at an average of 31.60.
In the T20Is, Rauf finished with five wickets at an average of 15.40, while Afridi picked up one wicket at an average of 107.
As for Naseem, he only featured in two T20Is and ended up with one wicket at an average of 81.
Once the Australia tour concluded, Pakistan travelled to Zimbabwe, but Afridi and Naseem were rested for the series.
Rauf, however, was selected and continued his run of good form, taking three wickets in three ODIs at an average of 32.
He then proceeded to play in two T20Is and claimed three wickets at an average of 10.
“Pakistan has a seriously good pace bowling attack. Once you get Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf together, they are tough to beat,” Tait, who previously served as Pakistan’s bowling coach, was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan will now take on South Africa in three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests.
The T20I series will start on December 10, while the ODI and Test series will begin on December 17 and December 26 respectively.
Pakistan Squad for South Africa T20I Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha
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