Michael Vaughan: “Shaheen Afridi probably would get into these teams because he has a standard”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi is good enough to play T20Is for India, Australia, England and the West Indies as “he has a standard”.
Afridi has long been Pakistan’s pace spearhead in all three formats, but was out of the T20I team until recently.
There were concerns about the 25-year-old’s bowling speed and consistency in taking wickets, but he silenced his critics when he captained the Lahore Qalandars to the title in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Afridi played a pivotal role in his team’s triumph as 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.
“Shaheen Afridi probably would get into these teams because he has a standard,” Vaughan was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
After the PSL, Afridi was not picked for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore and the T20I tour of Bangladesh.
He ended up making his T20I return when the men in green travelled to the West Indies and finished with two wickets in two matches at an average of 29 and an economy rate of 7.25.
Afridi also featured in the three-match ODI series and claimed four wickets in two games 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
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