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Shaheen Afridi Out Of 1st T20I Vs SA? Pakistan Has 3 Reasons To Drop Out Of Form Pacer

Anurag Dasgupta

Why Pakistan should drop Shaheen Afridi [Source: @cricketpakcompk/X.Com] Why Pakistan should drop Shaheen Afridi [Source: @cricketpakcompk/X.Com]

Pakistan after an impressive performance against Zimbabwe will take on the home side, South Africa in a riveting 3-match T20I series. The year 2024 has been horrendous for Pakistan in the game's shortest format, and they are up against a formidable Proteas team in their own backyard.

For Pakistan, there have been plenty of problems in T20I cricket. The form of Babar Azam is a big cause of worry and there have been question marks over his place in the side. However, his teammate, Shaheen Afridi is also under scrutiny and in this piece we talk about why the speedster should be excluded from the playing XI Vs South Africa.

3) Shaheen isn't the same bowler he was before injury

Prior to the Asia Cup in 2022, Shaheen was on a upwards trajectory, however, the knee injury he suffered took him down. From that point of time, Shaheen wasn't the same bowler and his T20I numbers have also not been impressive.

Once a bowler with a speed in excess of 145, Shaheen's pace has gone down massively, and so much so that he now bowls at mid 130s, which is an ideal speed for a batter who wants to hit big shots in T20s.

No longer the batters fear when Shaheen takes his run-up and charges towards them with the ball in hand.

2) Had a horrendous T20I series vs Australia

He recently featured in the 3-match T20I series Vs Australia and the pacer had a tour to forget. In the 3 matches, he could only pick up a solitary wicket, and had an average of 107 as a bowler.

Moreover, he was taken to the cleaners in all three matches, and had an economy of more than 11 runs per over in all the three games as Pakistan lost the series. While his teammate, Haris Rauf terrorised the Aussie batters, Shaheen failed to leave his mark.

1) Isn't a match-winner anymore

The tag of a match-winner in T20Is has been taken by Haris Rauf, who continues to rise as a bowler. Shaheen, on the other hand looks a pale shadow of himself as he struggles with injury and workload management.

On quality pitches in Australia, he struggled to stamp his authority as the Aussie batters took him on with ease. Over the last few tours, Pakistan have tried some new bowlers and they have delivered the goods. In the last 2 years, he has taken 39 wickets in 26 matches, but how many of them have actually come in crucial matches, where the stakes were high?.