Azhar Mahmood: “He is a wonderful bowler and [has] a bright future”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan red-ball head coach Azhar Mahmood believes spinner Asif Afridi is a “wonderful bowler” with a “bright future,” even though he is 38 years old.
Mahmood’s comments come after Afridi had quite the impact in his Test debut against South Africa.
Playing in the 2nd Test in Rawalpindi, the left-arm spinner tore through South Africa’s batsmen, especially in the first innings, where he picked up six wickets.
It remains to be seen if Afridi will get many more chances in the future, but Mahmood knows he has found another superstar for the spin attack.
“He is a wonderful bowler and [has] a bright future,” he was quoted as saying by A Sports.
After the two-Test series, which ended as a 1-1 draw, Pakistan beat South Africa 2-1 in both the T20Is and ODIs.
The men in green are now taking on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series, which they lead 2-0.
Following this, Pakistan will go up against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in a T20I tri-series from November 18 to 29.
Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka ODI Series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha
Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq
Reserves: Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem