Sohaib Maqsood: “I have a concern about Shaheen Shah (Afridi) – it’s been two years of him getting hammered in bowling”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan batsman Sohaib Maqsood is frustrated with Shaheen Shah Afridi as the left-arm pace bowler has been “getting hammered” for two years.
Questions have been raised about Afridi’s effectiveness with the ball, with many pointing out that he is not the same bowler he was prior to suffering back-to-back knee injuries in 2022.
Recently, the 25-year-old featured in Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand and took two wickets in four games at an average of 66.50 and an economy rate of 10.23.
Afridi bounced back in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he captained the Lahore Qalandars to the title and finished as the highest wicket-taker with 19 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 16.42 and an economy rate of 7.76.
Despite his fantastic turnaround in PSL 10, Maqsood still cannot understand why Afridi has been so underwhelming in international cricket over the past couple of years.
“I have a concern about Shaheen Shah (Afridi) – it’s been two years of him getting hammered in bowling,” he was quoted as saying by TOK Sports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan are now taking on Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series, but Afridi was not included in the team.
The men in green are 2-0 up going into the 3rd T20I on June 1 in Lahore.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub