Pakistan pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi: “Was I rested from the Tests? Rested, really? (laughs) Your question is really nice”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi laughed at a journalist after being questioned whether he was rested for the two-Test series against South Africa.
Afridi was not named in the squad for the series, which the men in green went on to lose 2-0.
While the 24-year-old did not reveal why he didn’t play against the Proteas, he simply brushed off the reporter’s comments about being rested.
“Was I rested from the Tests? Rested, really? (laughs) Your question is really nice,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Prior to the Test series, Pakistan and South Africa played three T20Is and three ODIs.
In the T20Is, Afridi claimed three wickets in two matches at an average of 19.66.
He then proceeded to take seven wickets in three ODIs at an average of 23.28.
After their tour of South Africa, Pakistan returned home and faced the West Indies in a two-Test series in Multan, which ended as a 1-1 draw.
However, Afridi was once again not included in the squad.
While he was overlooked for the Test series against South Africa and the West Indies, Afridi has been picked in Pakistan’s team for the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will be played from February 19 to March 9.
Pakistan Squad for 2025 Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah