Former Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi discarded injury concerns about Shaheen Afridi as the 43-year-old believed that a fast bowler cannot play if there is an injury.
Shaheen has lost his pace ever since coming from his knee injury but the pacer is still performing at a top level as the 23-year-old bagged eight wickets in two Tests and was the visitors’ key weapon with the ball in Melbourne.
Shahid emphasised that Shaheen is aware how important he is to the team and also addressed the expectations he carries on his shoulders due to his performances in the past.
"I've never got the impression that Shaheen has an injury. If you're injured you can't play as a fast bowler. He knows his responsibility and how important he is to the team,” Afridi said while talking to ESPN Cricinfo.
“The fast bowlers, we are expecting a lot from them because they've done well in the past. Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen etc. have performed so well we expect them to perform in every match. Relentless consistency is challenging in cricket.”
Afridi believed that having a strong bench is just as essential as playing XI so that when main players are not performing up to the mark, there are always options.
"I have always said that unless our bench is strong we won't be able to take the best decisions. The A team should be as strong as the main team, so if Shaheen or Babar or Rizwan aren't strong, we shouldn't have the excuses of players being unavailable, like we do with Naseem now. When our bench is strong, we will no longer have excuses,” he added.
Afridi then went on to talk about Haris Rauf, who refused to play in the three-match Test series against Australia to prioritise white-ball cricket.
Rauf played five matches for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL) 13th edition, but Afridi thought that having that kind of pace on Australian soil in red-ball cricket could’ve been the key.
"I think Haris [Rauf] should be part of this side instead rather than [the BBL]," Afridi, speaking to media at the MCG, said." In these conditions, the kind of pace he has, he would have performed well and enjoyed himself on the kinds of pitches Australia prepared in Perth and here,” he concluded.
- Shahid Afridi
- Shaheen Afridi