Pakistan seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi: “I feel like my rhythm is good and pace-wise back on 140. I’m feeling better and my pace is normal again”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has announced that he is back bowling at 140 kph and is “ready to play” all three formats again.
Afridi has only been utilised in limited overs cricket over the past couple of months, raising questions about whether the selectors are starting to move on from him in Tests.
During Pakistan’s tour of Australia, he took eight wickets in three ODIs at an average of 12.62 before following it up with one wicket in three T20Is at an average of 107.
The 24-year-old was rested for trip to Zimbabwe, but returned to face South Africa and started off with three wickets in two T20Is at an average of 19.66.
He then proceeded to pick up seven wickets in three ODIs at an average of 23.28.
Afridi was not selected for Pakistan’s two-Test series against South Africa or the two-Test series against the West Indies, which the men in green lost 2-0 and drew 1-1 respectively.
Nonetheless, he is glad to be back bowling at speeds of 140 kph and is ready for the “big events coming up”, most notably the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will be held from February 19 to March 9.
“After those 2 series I played in Australia and South Africa, I feel like my rhythm is good and pace-wise back on 140. I’m feeling better and my pace is normal again. For a couple of months, my pace was a little bit down, but the last 3 months I’ve played cricket, I feel much better and I’m excited about big events coming up. I feel I’m ready to play all cricket,” he was quoted as saying by PakPassion on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Kashif Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha
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