Shaheen Afridi’s banishment from Pakistan’s Test team has surprised many. When he was dropped by Pakistan after the first test of the three-match series at home against England last year, he was expected to be recalled to the squad for the series in South Africa.
With conditions favorable for fast bowlers in South Africa, it was highly likely that the pacer would find a place in the Pakistan team. But the selectors and the team management decided otherwise as they did not remember the left-arm pacer.
At the time, it was reported in the news that Shaheen Afridi’s absence from the Test squad was due to workload management. In his absence, Pakistan lost both Tests against the African outfit. Prior to the Test series, Afridi played in the T20I and ODI series against the Proteas.
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Aaqib Javed in the absence of Shaheen Afridi:
Pakistan interim head coach Aaqib Javed has revealed the reason behind Shaheen Afridi’s absence from the Test team. He was interacting with the media before the second Test against the West Indies when one of the reporters asked him why Afridi did not play the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
In response, Javed made it clear that the Pakistani selectors did not pick him in the team because he was no longer playing four-day cricket. He said that not getting enough game experience for the Test match affects the rhythm of the bowlers and that is the main reason why Afridi is not in the Test side. Javed also urged Pakistani sportsmen to prepare for the Tests by playing red ball cricket in the domestic circuit.
There is one-day cricket and Test cricket. Because so much cricket is played nowadays, if you play all three formats, you can play Tests during one series but not play any four-day cricket for the next three months. So when you come back to Test matches, you have to rebuild yourself to bowl in this format,” said Javed.
“This is one reason why fast bowlers struggle to maintain the energy needed to finish the tails when they bowl 20-25 overs a day.
“If Shahin had played Afridi, Mohammad Abbas would not have played. It was because of Abbas that the match was so close.
So all these bowlers should focus on preparing themselves for the test matches by playing four days of cricket before the series. Only then will they develop the stamina required for Test-level cricket,” he said.
So Aqib Javed dropped Shaheen Afridi from TESTS for not playing four day cricket.👍 pic.twitter.com/By6tr2V2tK
— Salman 🇵🇰 (@SalmanAsif2007) January 24, 2025
Meanwhile, Pakistan have taken an elusive 1-0 lead in the ongoing two-match Test series against the West Indies. They won the first Test by 127 runs. The second trial will begin on Saturday (January 25).
