Mohammad Amir: “Take out all of Shaheen’s ICC events except the 2021 T20 World Cup, where he had an impact – besides that, show me a single ICC event where Shaheen performed impactfully”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Mohammad Amir has taken aim at fellow Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, saying he hasn’t performed in any other ICC event other than the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Amir noted that the 26-year-old is “a very good bowler with potential”, but has fallen short of the mark in major tournaments where Pakistan needed him to step up.
Even though Afridi is Pakistan’s ODI captain and has been the pace spearhead, Amir pointed out that performance is what matters most.
“No disrespect – he’s a very good bowler with potential, but at the end of the day, performance matters. Take out all of Shaheen’s ICC events except the 2021 T20 World Cup, where he had an impact – besides that, show me a single ICC event where Shaheen performed impactfully, and I will admit it,” he said on Geo News programme Haarna Mana Hai.
During the 2026 T20 World Cup, Afridi finished with eight wickets in five matches at an average of 22.37 and an economy rate of 10.52.
As for the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL), he captained the Lahore Qalandars and was the fourth-highest wicket-taker with 16 victims in 10 games at an average of 18.18 and an economy rate of 7.86.
Afridi returned to international duty after PSL 11 and picked up five wickets in one Test against Bangladesh at an average of 33.40.
He then captained Pakistan in a three-match ODI series against Australia and took seven wickets at an average of 12.14.
Despite a solid showing in his past few assignments, Afridi was dropped for Pakistan’s upcoming Test tours of the West Indies and England.
The men in green will play two Tests against the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago from July 25 to August 6 before travelling to England for three Tests from August 19 to September 13.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
Pakistan Squad for England Test series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah