Jason Gillespie confirms Shaheen Afridi's exit from Pakistan team for Bangladesh series!! Reveals the real reason

Pakistan's ace left-arm pacer, Shaheen Afridi, is set to embrace fatherhood as his wife, Ansha, daughter of the legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi, is expecting their first child. The good news broke out from the Pakistan Cricket Team’s red-ball coach, Jason Gillespie, on July 12.

Gillespie revealed that Afridi may miss the upcoming two-match Test matches against Bangladesh to be with his pregnant wife, as the speedster is ready to welcome a new addition to their family during the home series. The coach said that they were ready to give Afridi a break for the entire Test series.

Shaheen Afridi to miss Bangladesh Tests to welcome his first child

The couple's journey to parenthood follows their nikah ceremony in February 2023 at Karachi's Zakaria Mosque, with their formal wedding and walima celebrated later in September of the same year. However, Shaheen has not yet made any official statement about the same.

Jason Gillespie was quoted as saying by Geo TV: “Shaheen can miss Bangladesh Test matches due to childbirth. We can give him [some] rest if he wants to stay with his wife till then.”

Notably, Shaheen and Ansha’s wedding took place on September 19 at a Karachi hotel, attended by several current and former Pakistani cricketers, including Babar Azam, Misbah-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Sohail Khan, and Tanveer Ahmed.

On the other hand, the valima ceremony took place in Islamabad on September 21, with Shahid Afridi sharing a series of heartwarming pictures alongside his daughter and son-in-law Shaheen on social media.

Shaheen Afridi faces heat for misbehaving with Pakistan coaches

Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi has been in headlines recently for misbehaving with Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten, captain Babar Azam, and other coaches Azhar Mahmood and Mohammad Yousuf during the team’s tour of Ireland and England and during the T20 World Cup 2024.

However, Shaheen and his father-in-law Afridi have not yet reacted to the allegations, but it is being said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to take strict action against the star speedster, especially after a heated argument with Yousuf on Pakistan’s recent England tour.

The media reports claimed that the PCB would drop Shaheen for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh, but now Gillispie has confirmed that he is becoming a father for the first time, so he will be given a break.

Prior to this drama, Afridi had garnered attention due to Pakistan's captaincy changes, where he was replaced by Babar Azam as the white-ball skipper in March. Subsequently, the star pacer declined the vice- captain position offered to him by the PCB for the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024, where the Men in Green had a disappointing campaign.

The Pakistan team failed to deliver in the back-to-back World Cups—the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup—leading to heavy criticism on the team, board, and team management.

Notably, Pakistan had suffered embarrassing defeats against the co-hosts USA and India in their Group A matches in the recent T20 World Cup 2024, due to which they failed to qualify for the Super-8 round of the tournament. Later, India became the T20 World Cup 2024 champion.