Shoaib Akhtar: “Give me Haris, Shaheen, and Naseem, I’ll make them megastars”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan pace icon Shoaib Akhtar believes if he had the chance to work with the fast bowling trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, he would turn them into megastars.
Afridi, Naseem and Rauf are Pakistan’s go-to speedsters right now, but questions have been raised about their consistency as their form keeps going up and down.
Akhtar noted that such talented players shouldn’t be dropped from the national team, which has been the case with Afridi and Naseem lately.
Instead, the Rawalpindi Express would nurture them if he were in charge and ensure to get the most out of them.
“Give me Haris, Shaheen, and Naseem, I’ll make them megastars. I don’t understand why players are dropped and then brought back. If I had players like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah under my guidance, they would have been megastars by now,” he was quoted as saying by TOK Sports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Recently, Afridi, Naseem and Rauf were all involved in Pakistan’s white-ball tour of New Zealand.
In the five-match T20I series, which the men in green lost 4-1, Afridi took two wickets in four games at an average of 66.50 and an economy rate of 10.23.
Rauf claimed eight wickets in four matches at an average of 12.25 and an economy rate of 7.53, while Naseem did not feature in the series.
As for the three ODIs that followed, Rauf ended up with three wickets in two games at an average of 37.66, while Naseem finished with three wickets in three matches at an average of 38.
After the New Zealand tour, Afridi captained the Lahore Qalandars in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and led them to the final, where they beat the Quetta Gladiators by six wickets.
Afridi ended PSL 10 as the highest wicket-taker with 19 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 16.42 and an economy rate of 7.76.
Rauf also played for the Qalandars and took 17 wickets in 13 games at an average of 25.70 and an economy rate of 10.28.
Naseem, meanwhile, represented Islamabad United and snapped up nine wickets in 10 matches at an average of 40.33 and an economy rate of 9.30.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, which will be held in Lahore from May 28 to June 1.
Both Rauf and Naseem were picked in the team, but Afridi was left out.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub
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