Shahid Afridi: “Shaheen Afridi needs some rest, he bowled around 1,000 overs this year and he should be playing against good teams only”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan power-hitter Shahid Afridi believes left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi “should be playing against good teams only” as he has “bowled around 1,000 overs this year”.
Shaheen’s workload has been a major talking point for a few years, especially after he suffered back-to-back knee injuries in 2022.
He recently featured in Pakistan’s limited overs series against Australia and took eight wickets in three ODIs at an average of 12.62.
He then proceeded to pick up one wicket in three T20Is at an average of 107.
After the Australia tour, the men in green went to Zimbabwe, but Shaheen was rested for both the ODI and T20I series.
The 24-year-old returned for the ongoing tour of South Africa and claimed three wickets in two T20Is at an average of 19.66.
In the three-match ODI series, he finished with seven wickets at an average of 23.28.
In order to ensure Shaheen stays fit going forward, Shahid reiterated that he should only be selected when Pakistan go up against the top teams in the world.
“Shaheen Afridi needs some rest, he bowled around 1,000 overs this year and he should be playing against good teams only,” he was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan and South Africa are now playing a two-Test series, which the Proteas lead 1-0 after winning the 1st Test in Centurion by two wickets.
The 2nd Test will begin on January 3 in Cape Town.
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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