Shahid Afridi: “Babar, Shaheen, and others. All of them have played a lot of cricket. Now give such performances, with which Pakistan can win games”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has called on batsman Babar Azam and left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi to start delivering match-winning performances.
Azam and Shaheen are key members of the national team, though Azam’s recent performances have dipped, whereas Shaheen is showing signs of a promising return to form.
Despite their past form, Shahid knows both of them are capable of leading from the front as they have done so on numerous occasions in the past.
“Babar, Shaheen, and others. All of them have played a lot of cricket. Now give such performances, with which Pakistan can win games,” he said on Star Sports as quoted by Sports Tak.
Shaheen recently featured in Pakistan’s T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan, where he picked up four wickets in four matches at an average of 19.50 and an economy rate of 5.57.
He fared even better in the 2025 Asia Cup, finishing as Pakistan’s highest wicket-taker with 10 wickets in seven games at an average of 16.40 and an economy rate of 6.60.
Azam, however, was not picked for the T20I tri-series or the Asia Cup.
However, he is scheduled to return to action in the upcoming Test series against South Africa, for which Shaheen has also been selected.
Pakistan will host South Africa for two Tests, three T20Is, and three ODIs, which will take place from October 12 to November 8.
Pakistan squad for South Africa Test series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi