David Warner: “Shaheen Afridi is hard to handle. He’s one bowler that I’ve always found I’ve had to respect”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Australia opening batsman David Warner has admitted that Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi is “one bowler that I’ve always found I’ve had to respect” as he is tough to face.
Afridi has gained a reputation of being one of the best new ball bowlers in the world due to his ability to take early wickets across all three formats.
Recently, the 24-year-old was in action during Pakistan’s limited overs tour of Australia and started off by claiming eight wickets in three ODIs at an average of 12.62.
He then featured in the three-match T20I series, but could only pick up one wicket at an average of 107.
Following this, Pakistan travelled to Zimbabwe, but Afridi was rested for the series.
The men in green won both the ODI and T20I series 2-1.
“Shaheen Afridi is hard to handle. He’s one bowler that I’ve always found I’ve had to respect,” Warner was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a tour of South Africa, where they will play three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests.
The T20I series will start on December 10, while the ODI and Test series will get underway 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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