Azhar Mahmood: “We are concerned for him. He will take some time to get back [into] rhythm”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan assistant coach Azhar Mahmood has admitted that he is “concerned” about left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi as he has not been taking enough wickets lately.
His comments come after Afridi claimed two wickets in two matches in the 2025 Champions Trophy at an average of 71.
Following this, the 25-year-old featured in a five-match T20I series against New Zealand and finished with two wickets in four games at an average of 66.50.
Pakistan and New Zealand played a three-match ODI series after this, but Afridi was not picked for it.
“We are concerned for him. He will take some time to get back [into] rhythm,” Mahmood was quoted as saying by journalist Arfa Feroz Zake on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Currently, Afridi is captaining the Lahore Qalandars in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and has claimed five wickets in his first three matches.
PSL 10 started on April 11 and will conclude on May 18.
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 10:
- Platinum: Daryl Mitchell, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain)
- Diamond: Haris Rauf, Kusal Perera, Sikandar Raza
- Gold: Abdullah Shafique, Jahandad Khan, Zaman Khan
- Silver: Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, David Wiese, Muhammad Akhlaq, Rishad Hossain
- Emerging: Mohammad Azab, Momin Qamar
- Supplementary: Muhammad Naeem, Sam Billings, Salman Ali Mirza, Tom Curran