Mike Haysman: “It came out that Shaheen Shah Afridi was not picked for this Test series because they were resting him for the Champions Trophy. I see he’s now playing in the Bangladesh Premier League – not getting a great deal of rest”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Well-known cricket commentator Mike Haysman has questioned why Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi is playing for Fortune Barishal in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) if he was supposed to be resting in the lead-up to the 2025 Champions Trophy.
He noted that Afridi was not selected for the recent two-Test series against South Africa in order for him to rest up.
Pakistan lost that series 2-0 while Afridi was playing for Barishal in the BPL, much to Haysman’s confusion.
“It came out that Shaheen Shah Afridi was not picked for this Test series because they were resting him for the Champions Trophy. I see he’s now playing in the Bangladesh Premier League – not getting a great deal of rest,” he was quoted as saying by Grassroots Cricket on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In the BPL, Afridi has taken three wickets in four matches at an average of 41.33.
Pakistan’s next assignment will see them take on the West Indies in a two-Test series, which will be held from January 16 to 28 in Karachi and Multan.
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