Shaheen Shah Afridi has expressed his commitment to regaining a position in Pakistan’s Test cricket team as he made his first competitive red-ball domestic appearance since 2019 during the President’s Trophy on September 12.
The left-arm fast bowler is currently excluded from the Test squad after missing selections for Pakistan’s tours of the West Indies and England. Since debuting in 2018, Afridi has taken 126 wickets in 34 Test matches and is using this return to first-class cricket to push for a comeback.
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“Red-ball cricket is always my first priority,” Afridi stated, according to the ICC website. “I’ve always loved it. I didn’t get enough time to play because of international cricket, but I haven’t been playing much cricket for the last couple of months. So it’s an opportunity to play red-ball cricket.”
Pakistan’s selectors and fans hope Afridi’s return
Pakistan’s selectors and fans hope Afridi’s return to domestic red-ball cricket will strengthen the Test side, which recently suffered a 3-0 series defeat against England in the ICC World Test Championship.
A congested international schedule across all formats has limited Afridi’s opportunities in red-ball cricket in recent years. He continues to captain Pakistan’s ODI team, with an upcoming home tri-series involving England and Sri Lanka, followed by home Test series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand later in the year.
Reflecting on his development, Afridi said, “I learned a lot from my elder brother Riaz Afridi, because he’s played a lot of first-class cricket. In the longer format, the longer you spend time on the ground (the better it is) for your confidence, and for your line and length to get fine-tuned.”
He added, I’ll try to bowl the same
He added, “I’ll try to bowl the same way in first-class cricket as I’ve bowled in Test cricket.”
Afridi acknowledged the challenges of shifting focus between formats, noting, “I’ve not played red-ball cricket for the last few months. Before that, I’d been playing red-ball cricket continuously. If you play international cricket, then coming back to domestic cricket can be challenging. Because you’ve been playing international cricket constantly in all three formats, it keeps you busy. When you’re free, you should play domestic cricket.”
In white-ball cricket, Afridi recently excelled as the leading wicket-taker in the Champions Cup, guiding Pakistan to victory with a seven-wicket haul of 7/36 in the final.
Pakistan currently sit ninth in the World Test Championship standings, having won two of nine matches during the current cycle.
Source: thenewsmill.com
