Azhar Ali: “All these three or four bowlers which you are talking about, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah; how will they lose their place? They are proper bowlers”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan selector Azhar Ali has questioned how the pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah will get dropped when they are “proper bowlers”.
Questions have been raised about Afridi and Naseem’s effectiveness lately since both of them are not taking as many wickets as expected.
During the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, Afridi claimed six wickets at an average of 33.16, while Naseem finished with three wickets at an average of 60.33.
Afridi and Naseem then featured in the 2025 Champions Trophy and picked up two wickets apiece at an average of 71 and 50 respectively.
“All these three or four bowlers which you are talking about, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah; how will they lose their place? They are proper bowlers,” Azhar was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Pakistan crashed out in the group stage of the Champions Trophy after losing to New Zealand and India.
Their final match against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain.
Next up for the men in green will be a tour of New Zealand, which will consist of five T20Is and three ODIs that will be played from March 16 to April 5.
Interestingly, Afridi was dropped from the ODI team, while Naseem was not included in the T20I squad.
Pakistan Squad for T20I Series against New Zealand: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for ODI Series against New Zealand: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir
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