Michael Vaughan: “Shaheen, on the other hand, is a brilliant bowler and a match-winner for Pakistan in this format”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has called Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi a “brilliant bowler” and a “match-winner” in T20Is.
Afridi has been in and out of Pakistan’s T20I team lately, but recently made his comeback in the format.
His return likely stemmed from his outstanding 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) campaign, 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.
“Shaheen, on the other hand, is a brilliant bowler and a match-winner for Pakistan in this format,” Vaughan was quoted as saying by TOK Sports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Despite his amazing performance in PSL 10, Afridi was ignored by the national selectors for Pakistan’s T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore and the tour of Bangladesh, which consisted of three T20Is in Mirpur.
The 25-year-old ended up being recalled to the T20I team for the tour of the West Indies and took two wickets in two matches at an average of 29 and an economy rate of 7.25.
Following this, he featured in the three-match ODI series and picked up four wickets in two games at an average of 21.50.
Pakistan are now involved in a T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan in Sharjah, which will end on September 7.
In three matches, Afridi has taken three wickets at an average of 23.66 an an economy rate of 5.91.
After the T20I tri-series, the men in green will take part in the 2025 Asia Cup, which will be played in the UAE from September 9 to 28.
Pakistan squad for UAE T20I tri-series and 2025 Asia Cup: 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, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem