Mohammad Amir feels that the lack of workload management of the fast bowlers in Pakistan affected Shaheen Afridi's form.
Speaking on The Scoop by Wisden, opined on the handling of Shaheen, revealing that playing him continuously across all formats affected his pace and performance. Afridi has been dropped from the Test squad currently competing against the West Indies.
The left-armer was struggling in the format since returning from a knee injury in 2023, having picked only 27 wickets in 16 innings at an average of 40.11 and a strike rate of 67.6. Moreover, his pace in the mid-120s during the Test series against Bangladesh, which Pakistan lost 0-2, also attracted scrutiny.
“If you go on Google or YouTube, you can watch the video,” Amir said. “I gave an interview in 2020 or 2021 about Shaheen Afridi because these things happened with me. I told the media that you guys keep playing Shaheen Afridi; the time will come when he will struggle.”
“He will struggle with the pace, with the consistency, with fitness, everything. And now you can see he's struggling by far. He's still young, he should be on top, but he's struggling. So there is something wrong. And the main thing is workload management. That's the main problem,” Amir added.
Also Read: The rise and fall of Shaheen Afridi
Shaheen bowled a staggering 809.4 overs in Tests between his debut and the injury in July 2022. No other Pakistan bowler bowled more during that period, with spin bowler Yasir Shah coming second with 606.2 overs. Hasan Ali was next among fast bowlers, having bowled only 427.3 overs.
The left-arm fast bowler is currently featuring in the Lanka Premier League for Kandy Royals. He has picked up seven wickets in four matches at an average of 19.14 and an economy of 8.93.
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