Atiq-uz-Zaman: “I can’t remember Shaheen taking [a] catch [the] last time”
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Former Pakistan cricketer Atiq-uz-Zaman has lashed out at Shaheen Shah Afridi for his poor fielding, saying he can’t remember the last time the left-arm seamer took a catch.
Afridi’s problems in the field have been pointed out in the past, but Atiq noted that it is inexcusable for the 24-year-old not to be improving.
“I can’t remember Shaheen taking [a] catch [the] last time,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Afridi was recently in action in Pakistan’s limited overs series against Australia and kicked off the tour by taking eight wickets in three ODIs at an average of 12.62.
He failed to maintain that momentum in the T20I series as he finished with one wicket in three games at an average of 107.
Afridi did not travel to Zimbabwe with the Pakistan team as he was rested for both the ODI and T20I series.
He is now back in action and began the ongoing tour of South Africa with three wickets in two T20Is at an average of 19.66.
As for the ODI series, he picked up one wicket in the 1st ODI, which Pakistan won by three wickets.
The 2nd ODI will take place on December 19 in Cape Town.
Once the ODIs conclude, Pakistan and South Africa will face each other in a two-Test series, which gets underway on December 26 in Centurion.
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