Pakistan’s leading bowler Shaheen Afridi has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons lately. It’s been a downhill climb for him so far this year.
The year started on a controversial note for him as he was heavily criticised for not playing in the Sydney Test against Australia. This was followed by an unforgettable debut series as Pakistan’s T20I captain, in which his team lost 4-1 to New Zealand.
He then had a disastrous campaign in the Pakistan Super League, with his team Lahore Qalandars winning just one game and finishing bottom. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sacked him as T20I captain after just one series and brought back Babar Azam. Shaheen Afridi’s performances also fell short of expectations.
The left-arm pacer has failed to live up to expectations of late, most notably in the T20 World Cup last month where he took just two wickets in his first three matches and three wickets in the final group match which saw Pakistan crash out of the tournament.
Shaheen Afridi breaks silence:
Shaheen Afridi’s situation has worsened after reports emerged of his altercation with batting coach Mohammad Yousuf. The fast bowler reportedly behaved inappropriately towards the coach during the England tour. According to Pakistani media reports, the PCB was not happy with Afridi’s inappropriate behaviour and is set to take disciplinary action against him.
The report said that the star pacer is unlikely to be considered for the upcoming home Test series against Bangladesh. And he finally broke his silence on the report and said he was not aware of the report. He said he just wanted to play cricket with dignity and not focus on the report.
“I don’t know if I’ll be eliminated in the Test series. [against Bangladesh]. My role is to play cricket and I will do it with dignity,” Shaheen Afridi was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Meanwhile, Afridi was recently denied a no-objection certificate by the PCB to play in the Global T20 Canada. Along with him, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam were also denied by the NOC. It will now be interesting to see how the PCB decides on Afridi’s place in the Test squad for the upcoming series against Bangladesh.
