Jason Gillespie: “He’s the leading wicket-taker in the PSL, he did wonderfully well there, so he’s clearly got a huge future and he’ll certainly be in the plans for all formats for Pakistan”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie is certain left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi will be in the selectors’ plans for all three formats.
Afridi has had periods of ups and downs lately, but since the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), he has really started hitting his stride again.
During PSL 10, the 25-year-old captained the Lahore Qalandars and ended up being the highest wicket-taker with 19 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 16.42 and an economy rate of 7.76.
Despite being on fire in the PSL, Afridi was not selected for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore and the T20I tour of Bangladesh.
He made his T20I comeback during the tour of the West Indies and picked up two wickets in two games at an average of 29 and an economy rate of 7.25.
As for the ODI series that followed, Afridi took four wickets in two matches at an average of 21.50.
Considering that Afridi is back in the wickets, Gillespie noted that the 140 kph speedster has “clearly got a huge future” with the men in green.
“He’s the leading wicket-taker in the PSL, he did wonderfully well there, so he’s clearly got a huge future and he’ll certainly be in the plans for all formats for Pakistan,” he told PakPassion.
After the tour of the West Indies, Pakistan took on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan in a T20I tri-series in Sharjah, which they won.
In four matches, Afridi picked up four wickets at an average of 19.50 and an economy rate of 5.57.
The men in green are now featuring in the 2025 Asia Cup, which is taking place in the UAE.
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