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The Pakistan National Cricket Team have been facing the England National Cricket Team at Headingley in Leeds for the first Test match. Pakistan’s inexperienced bowling attack has failed to trouble the English batters. During the match, former England pacer Darren Gough slammed the selectors and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for not selecting Shaheen Shah Afridi for the three-match series.
The Men in Green are in trouble even before the start of the Test match, as they lost captain Babar Azam citing a finger injury, ahead of the crucial clash. Now an inexperienced captain, Salman Ali Agha did not have the best of times in the field with his bowlers. They do not have much experience of playing in English conditions.
Darren Gough slams PCB for not picking Shaheen Afridi
While speaking on Day 3 of the first Test match, Darren Gough was shocked after knowing the fact that Shaheen Afridi was not picked in the squad. He, while speaking on talkSPORT commentary he slammed the PCB selectors for not backing the left-arm pacer during his off-form, as he believes that Shaheen Afridi could have been effective in these conditions.
Darren Gough said, "I cannot get my head around Shaheen Afridi, how he's not here in England. They must really highly think about their bowlers they've got on show here."
"If someone like Afridi, and I know he's not been at the races this last 18 months or whatever, but he's still quality. He's still a quality bowler. Every time I see him bowl, I still think he can pick up wickets."
Why was Shaheen Afridi dropped?
Shaheen Afridi was dropped from the Test squad after the Bangladesh series. He bowled decently, returning figures of 3/113 in the first innings from 31.1 overs and 2/54 in the second innings from 16 overs, and was dropped in the second Test. Following that, he was dropped from the side in the traditional format ahead of the West Indies series.
However, weeks after being dropped from the Test side, the ODI captain of Pakistan shone in the National Champions Cup final as he picked up seven wickets in the final, which included a hat-trick. He topped the wicket-taking charts of the tournament with 13 wickets in four matches. This showcased his prowess in the white-ball format and ability to pick wickets.
His short Test career spanned 34 matches; he has taken 126 wickets at an average of 28.13, conceding 3,545 runs in 1,114 overs. However, with recent injury concerns and poor consistency, he failed to have much impact in crucial games in the red-ball format, as his pace dropped and he struggled to consistently bowl above 140 kph.
Pakistan in deep trouble
The Men in Green are in real trouble as they were bowled out for 171 runs and then England scored 409 runs, taking a lead of 238 runs. Now they are already three wickets down for a score of 57 runs.
A win for Pakistan is nearly impossible until someone steps up and plays a big innings and gives a massive target for England to chase with two days in hand.
