Shaheen Shah Afridi. (Picture Credit: AP)
Shaheen Shah Afridi led Pakistan’s four-man pace attack in the series opener against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi last week and picked up two wickets in the first innings.
After suffering a shocking defeat by 10 wickets against Bangladesh in the first Test played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium last week, Pakistan will face Najmul Hossain Shanto’s men in the second Test at the same venue, which starts on Friday (August 30). On the eve of the second and final red-ball match of the series, Pakistan took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce a 12-man team for the series decider, and surprisingly, there was no place for Shaheen Shah Afridi.
The 24-year-old Afridi, who recently became a father, led Pakistan’s four-man pace attack in the series opener and picked up two wickets as well, but he was left out of the squad. In his place, pacer Mir Hamza and spinner Abrar Ahmed were added to the 12-man squad.
It is not clear whether Shaheen was dropped from the squad or has been rested. The left-arm pacer, who is the all-time leading wicket-taker for Pakistan in the World Test Championship history, had earlier missed Pakistan’s third Test against Australia in Sydney in January 2024.
Pakistan played four seamers in the first Test against Bangladesh, and the team’s strategy backfired, which has raised the possibility of Abrar’s inclusion in the playing XI for the second Test. It will be interesting to see if Khurram Shehzad and Mohammad Ali both manage to retain their place or if one of them will make way for Hamza.
Naseem Shah, in all likelihood, is set to be part of the playing XI and will lead the Shan Masood-led side’s attack.
After losing the first-ever Test match against Bangladesh last week, Pakistan would like to come up with a big show in the second Test and save itself from the embarrassment of losing the Test series against Bangladesh.
Star batter and former captain Babar Azam failed to fire in the first Test along with skipper Masood, and all eyes will be on their batting show in the must-win match.
Pakistan’s 12-man squad for the 2nd Test: Shan Masood (C), Saud Shakeel (VC), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Agha Salman, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Mir Hamza.