The futures of Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan have come under serious suspicion in Pakistan’s national cricket team. Shaheen, Babur and Rizwan were once the main members of the team, but there is speculation whether their international career is near a crossroads.
Babur, Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi played an important role in guiding Pakistan in the T-to-back T20 World Cup knockout appearance in 2021 and 2022. However, all three have been sidelined in T20I. He was excluded from men in the Green Squad, who won a 3–0 series over Bangladesh on the soil of the house last month.
Shaheen Afridi called back from England holiday for squad selection
Shaheen Afridi was allegedly asked to return from a family holiday to England for the selection of a possible squad, but was later dropped without formal communication. According to Cricket Pakistan, Pesar came to know about its exclusion only through social media.
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While some media reports indicated the disciplinary reasons for his lapse, a senior PCB official dismissed claims that the decision was said to be purely cricketing qualifications. The official also clarified that if discipline was an issue, Shaheen Afridi would not have been invited to the training camp.
“If there were disciplinary issues, he would not have been invited to the training camp,” the official said.
Shaheen Afridi last played T20I for Pakistan in March
After his excluding his exclusion from the T20i series against Bangladesh at home, the left -handed pace has also been left out of the squad for the return leg of the tour. Selector Aakib Javed said that Shaheen Afridi needs to address technical issues.
Shaheen scored an impressive run in PSL, where he captained the Lahore Kalandars for the title and ended with 19 wickets as the leading wicket -taker of the tournament. In particular, AAQIB had previously worked with Shaheen in the same franchise, but his professional relations are reportedly stressful now.
The 25 -year -old was last shown in T20I for Pakistan in March. He has taken an average of 102 wickets in 70 matches on an average of 22.12 and an economy of 7.90.
Mike Hessen returns T20i for Babur and Rizwan
Head coach Mike Hessen has denied the T20I comeback for Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, stating that the two players need to adapt their views to the format and show more intentions if they expect a reconsideration.
While Babur and Rizwan are not currently part of the T20I setup, they can still be in controversy for selection in the ODI team. Meanwhile, Shaheen Shah Afridi remains in the frame for the upcoming West Indies Tour.
Shadab Khan is currently recovering from surgery, and PCB is discussing against the West Indies to convert scheduled flora into T20I. If this happens, Babur and Rizwan’s return to international cricket may be delayed even more.
In a recent media interaction, Hessen confirmed that Shaheen needed to improve his performance and dismissed the rumors of social media-fuel that he had asked Babur to return the wicketkeeping duties to the team.
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