Zaman Khan: “When I first reached there, Shahid Afridi was warming up. So I hurried up and to impress him, I started practicing. He asked my name, saw my bowling and told me to bowl the first over”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan pace bowler Zaman Khan has recalled how he was eager to impress legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi when playing in the Kashmir Premier League (KPL).
Zaman noted that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) didn’t allow him to participate in the tournament, but he decided to do so anyway after taking his brother’s advice.
During his time in the KPL, the 24-year-old garnered a lot of attention, including from Afridi, and subsequently began to build his reputation as a fast bowler to watch out for.
“PCB did not allow me to participate in the Kashmir Premier League and told me its performance won’t count. However, my brother told me to go there, since a lot of stars will be there. When I first reached there, Shahid Afridi was warming up. So I hurried up and to impress him, I started practicing. He asked my name, saw my bowling and told me to bowl the first over. Then Wasim bhai, Kamran bhai, everyone asked me to bowl one more ball,” Zaman was quoted as saying by PakPassion on X, formerly known as Twitter.
With the Mirpur native not having played any international cricket since April 2024, he missed Pakistan’s T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, T20I tour of Bangladesh, limited overs tour of the West Indies, and T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan.
Zaman also didn’t make the cut for the 2025 Asia Cup, which was played in the UAE.
The men in green beat Oman and the UAE in the group stage, but lost to India as well.
They were defeated by India again in the Super Four, but fought back with wins over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to secure their spot in the final.
Pakistan faced India in the Asia Cup final and ended up losing by five wickets.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a home series against South Africa, which will consist of two Tests, three T20Is, and three ODIs to be played from October 12 to November 8.
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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