Wasim Akram: “If players like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, or Shaheen Afridi miss a couple of games, it’s no problem – our bench strength is growing”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan left-arm seamer Wasim Akram said it doesn’t matter if batsman Babar Azam, ODI captain Mohammad Rizwan and fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi “miss a couple of games”.
Explaining why, Wasim noted that it allows other players to get a chance to showcase their talent, which ultimately grows Pakistan’s bench strength.
“If players like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, or Shaheen Afridi miss a couple of games, it’s no problem – our bench strength is growing,” the Sultan of Swing was quoted as saying by Samaa TV.
Azam, Rizwan and Afridi all played in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and captained the Peshawar Zalmi, Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars respectively.
Azam amassed 288 runs in 10 games, which included three fifties, at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
Rizwan, meanwhile, accumulated 367 runs in 10 matches, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 52.42 and a strike-rate of 139.54.
As for Afridi, he was the highest wicket-taker in PSL 10 with 19 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 16.42 and an economy rate of 7.76.
After the PSL, all three of them didn’t feature in Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, which the men in green won 3-0.
They also weren’t involved in the tour of Bangladesh, where Pakistan lost the T20I series 2-1.
Pakistan then toured the West Indies and Afridi made his T20I comeback in the three-match series, where he took two wickets in two games at an average of 29 and an economy rate of 7.25.
Azam, Rizwan and Afridi did take part in the three-match ODI series that followed, with Azam scoring 56 runs at an average of 18.66.
Rizwan made 69 runs, which included a top score of 53, at an average of 23, while Afridi snapped up four wickets in two matches at an average of 21.50.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
Pakistan Squad for West Indies ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem