Shaheen Shah Afridi is not playing the third ODI against the West Indies, being held at Tarouba, Trinidad, today (August 12).
With the three-match series against the West Indies currently tied at 1-1, Pakistan are aiming for their first ODI series victory this year. The visitors won the first ODI by five wickets, before the Windies bounced back with a five-wicket win on Sunday. For the third ODI, being held on Tuesday, Pakistan made one change: bringing in Naseem Shah for senior bowler Shaheen.
Why is Shaheen Shah Afridi not playing the third ODI vs WI?
According to skipper Mohammad Rizwan, the change was made due to “tactical” reasons: he said that the side wanted “fresh legs”. Shaheen has played just seven ODIs in 2025, including two since the start of March. He was not picked for the New Zealand tour earlier in the year, and had also not featured in a T20I since April before playing two against the West Indies on the current tour.
The left-armer has also not played a Test match in 2025, which takes his international appearances this year to 13. In the PSL, Shaheen, who led his team, Lahore Qalandars, to the title, played 13 matches, bowling 40.1 overs for 19 wickets at an average of 16.42.
In the first ODI against the West Indies, Shaheen picked up 4-51, which helped him overhaul Mohammed Shami to reach the top of the bowling strike rate charts in the format with a 100-wicket cut-off. He went wicketless in the second game, conceding 35 in six overs in a rain-curtailed game.
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl first in the third ODI, and got an early wicket when Naseem dismissed Brandon King for five runs in the third over.
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