Shaheen Afridi, a fast bowler for Pakistan, will return to the national team for the T20I and ODI series against New Zealand, which starts on Friday, April 14. Afridi last played for Pakistan in the final of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup. He bowled a spell of 1/13 in 2.1 overs to keep his team in the game before leaving the field with a knee injury while taking a catch on the boundary.
He played cricket again in the eighth season of the Pakistan Super League. He led the Lahore Qalandars to a successful title defense, making him the first leader in PSL history to do so. Aaqib Javed, the coach of the Qalandars, has suggested that the 23-year-old seamer lead the T20I team. Javed praised the seamer and said that he was a good leader.
“Shaheen Afridi did something that no PSL leader had done before. He won the PSL twice in a row. The way he leads the team and works is admirable,” Javed was quoted in The News as saying about the man.
The 50-year-old also said that Afridi is the best person to lead Pakistan cricket in the right way.
“Even if you bring Shadab, and no matter how you do it, I don’t see any changes, especially not an offensive one. Or, if you add Rizwan, it won’t seem like society has changed. Shaheen Shah Afridi is the person who can make Pakistan cricket better and move it in the right way,” he said.
The former fast bowler also said that Babar Azam should stay as captain for Tests and ODIs, while Shaheen should lead the T20I team with the T20 World Cup in 2024 in mind.
Shaheen Afridi takes a cheerful approach, and he plays cricket without fear. Aaqib Javed
“Babar should continue to be the leader for both tests and one-day games. Shaheen should be the leader of the national team, with the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024 in mind. Shaheen takes a positive attitude, and he plays cricket without fear. Aaqib Javed said, “I think he should be the captain of the T20 team, and Babar should stay with the Tests and ODI teams.”
Shaheen Afridi was in great shape in the Pakistan Super League, which just ended. He made 133 runs at a strike rate of 168.35 and took 19 wickets in 12 games, averaging 21.15 per game. The southpaw will want to do as well at the international level as he did at home and make a spectacular return to the team.
Starting on April 14 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan and New Zealand will play five Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).