Shaheen Shah Afridi has been left out of the Pakistan team for the second Bangladesh Test starting on August 30 in Rawalpindi.
Afridi was not part of the 12-man squad announced on the eve of the second and crucial Test match. Besides Afridi’s exclusion, leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed and fast bowler Mir Hamza were the two additions to the playing Xi of the first Test.
Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie said Afridi hadn’t been “dropped,” saying he was “working on some things” to improve his effectiveness.
“Shaheen has missed out this game,” Gillespie said, adding that he had a good conversation with Shaheen and he fully understood and appreciated the thinking behind this move.
“He’s working on some things with his bowling to be as effective as he possibly can be. He’s working really well with Azhar Mahmood. We want to see Shaheen at his best because we’ve got a lot of cricket in all formats and Shaheen’s going to play a really big role in that,” he added.
Shaheen’s recent form has been a matter of concern for Pakistan – especially in Test cricket. He averaged 41 in bowling-friendly conditions in Australia earlier this year and took only two wickets of tail-enders in the first Test against Bangladesh.
His pace, which ranged around mid-140s earlier in his career, has also dropped significantly after the injury last year.
Pakistan are one down in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh. Pakistan must win the second Test to draw the series. The 10-wicket loss in the first Test was their first-ever defeat against the visiting side in this format.
Here is Pakistan’s 12-men squad for the second Test:
Shan Masood (c), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel (vc), Salman Ali Agha, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mir Hamza, and Abrar Ahmed.
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