Shaheen Afridi's banishment from the Pakistan Test team has surprised many. When he was released by the Pakistan team after the first Test of the three-match series against England at home last year, it was expected that he would be called into the squad for the series in South Africa.
With the conditions in South Africa favorable for fast bowlers, it seemed very likely that the pacer would find a place in the Pakistan team. However, the selectors and team management decided otherwise as they did not remember his left arm.
At the time, reports stated that the reason behind Shaheen Afridi's absence from the Test squad was workload management. In his absence, Pakistan lost both Tests to the African team. Before the Test series, Afridi played in the T20I as well as the ODI series against the Proteas.
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Aqib Javed on Shaheen Afridi's absence:
Pakistan national team's interim coach Aaqib Javed has revealed the reason for Shaheen Afridi's absence from the Test squad. He was interacting with the media ahead of the second Test against West Indies when a journalist asked him why Afridi did not play the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
In response, Javed explained that the Pakistan selectors did not pick him in the team because he was not playing four-day cricket anymore. He stated that not getting enough match practice for a Test match affects the pace of the bowlers and this is the main reason behind Afridi's absence from the Test side. Javed also urged Pakistani bowlers to prepare themselves for the Tests by playing red-ball cricket in the domestic circuit.
There is one day cricket and test cricket. With so much cricket nowadays, if you play all three formats, you may be able to take part in Tests during a series, but then for the next three months, you won't play any four-day cricket. So, when you come back to Test matches, you have to rebuild yourself to bowl like that,” Javed said.
“This is one of the reasons why fast bowlers, when they are bowling 20-25 overs a day, struggle to sustain the energy needed to eventually get the back bowlers out.
“If Shaheen Afridi had played, Mohammad Abbas would not have played. Because of Abbas, the match became so close.
Therefore, all bowlers need to focus on preparing themselves for the Test matches by playing four days of cricket before the series. “Only then will they build the stamina required for Test level cricket,” he added.
So Aaqib dropped Javed Shaheen Afridi from the Tests as he is not playing four-day cricket.👍 pic.twitter.com/By6tr2V2tK
– Salman 🇵🇰 (@SalmanAsif2007) January 24, 2025
Meanwhile, Pakistan have taken an unassailable 1-0 lead in the ongoing two-match Test series against West Indies. They won the first Test by 127 runs. The second Test will start on Saturday (January 25).
