Mohammad Hafeez: “The same goes for Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, they are also not giving match-winning performances for Pakistan”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has lashed out at the pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, saying they have not been producing any match-winning performances lately.
Naseem and Afridi had both been left out of the national team for a short while until they returned for the tour of the West Indies, which consisted of three T20Is and three ODIs.
In the T20Is, Afridi took two wickets in two matches at an average of 29 and an economy rate of 7.25.
The 25-year-old then proceeded to claim four wickets in two ODIs at an average of 21.50.
Naseem only played in the ODI series and ended up with five wickets in two games at an average of 25.40.
As for the T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan in Sharjah, Afridi finished with four wickets in four games at an average of 19.50 and an economy rate of 5.57.
Even though Afridi has been taking wickets consistently, Hafeez wants his efforts to result in victories for Pakistan.
He expects the same from Naseem, who is still considered to be one of the brightest young bowling prospects in the country.
“The same goes for Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, they are also not giving match-winning performances for Pakistan,” Hafeez was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan are now taking part in the 2025 Asia Cup, which is being played in the UAE.
So far, Afridi has taken three wickets in four matches at an average of 33 and an economy rate of 7.71.
The men in green kicked off their campaign with a 93-run win over Oman before suffering a seven-wicket loss against India.
They bounced back to crush the UAE by 41 runs, which also earned them a spot in the Super Four.
However, Pakistan didn’t start the Super Four stage on a high as they lost to India by six wickets.
Their next match will be against Sri Lanka on September 23 in Abu Dhabi.
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
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