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Pakistan have announced their squad for the home Test series against the West Indies. This is clearly a spin-heavy side as all the top-line spinners are back after missing the tour of South Africa.
However, a big surprise was the omission of star fast bowler Shaheen Afridi. Afridi found no place in a team that had only two fast bowlers in the form of Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Ali.
Shaheen was not even picked in Pakistan’s Test squad for the tour of South Africa, where the conditions were more helpful for seamers. He continues to be overlooked, which has raised questions about his future in Test cricket.
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Is Shaheen Afridi’s Test career over?
A source claimed that Pakistan’s leading fast bowlers in the white-ball format Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah are being preserved for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wants both players to be in the his best form in the tournament.
“The selectors want Shaheen (Afridi) and even Naseem (Shah) to be at their best in the Champions Trophy as it is a 50-over competition and we are the defending champions,” the source told PTI.
It is noteworthy that Naseem Shah, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas and Aamer Jamal all were dropped from the Pakistan squad for the home Test series against the West Indies. All these players were part of the tour of South Africa which Pakistan lost 0-2 to the hosts.
The source also claimed that Shaheen has been rested due to the turmoil schedule. With Pakistan already out of contention for the WTC final, the selection panel did not want Afridi to be considered for the Tests and wanted him to concentrate on the white-ball formats.
“But for the West Indies series I had no intention of imposing him on both teams they are out of the World Test Championship finals this cycle and the selectors are planning to have spin camps in Multan,” the source added.
Shaheen Afridi’s role in Pakistan’s ODI series win over South Africa
Shaheen Afridi is Pakistan’s leading fast bowler in white ball cricket alongside Naseem Shah. Although the left-arm quick has been dropped from the Test format, he continues to play an influential role in both ODIs and T20Is.
Afridi was part of the Pakistan squad for the ODI and T20I series in South Africa and performed well. He picked up 3 wickets in two T20Is and 7 wickets in three ODIs. He also helped Pakistan achieve a historic clean sweep over South Africa in the ODI series.
Shaheen Afridi’s numbers in Test cricket
Shaheen Afridi has played 31 Tests and picked up 116 wickets at an average of 27.88. He was Pakistan’s leading bowler in all formats until last year. However, his performance fell off suddenly, especially in the Test format.
He was eventually dropped from Pakistan’s Test squad for the second Test against England last year as the team moved towards preparing more spin-friendly surfaces. Since then, he has been out of the Test team. However, the 24-year-old has confirmed that he is ready to play the Test format as well.
