Shaheen Shah Afridi: “I have never thought of leaving any format of cricket for Pakistan”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi has made it clear that he has “never thought of leaving any format of cricket”.
Afridi used to be Pakistan’s pace spearhead in all three formats, but inconsistent performances have led to him losing his place in the Test and ODI squads.
He recently featured in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, but failed to impress as he ended up taking two wickets in four games at an average of 66.50 and an economy rate of 10.23.
Despite going through a difficult period in his international career, the 25-year-old reiterated that he has no plans to retire from any format.
“I have never thought of leaving any format of cricket for Pakistan. Ever since I started playing cricket, I have always thought of giving a performance for Pakistan. God has given me a lot of respect in this. I always want to enjoy playing cricket,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
After the New Zealand series, Afridi captained the Lahore Qalandars in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and played a crucial role in leading them to the title as he was the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 19 wickets in 13 games at an average of 16.42 and an economy rate of 7.76.
Even though he was on fire in PSL 10, Afridi was overlooked for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, which the men in green won 3-0.
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