Shaheen Afridi engaged in ugly verbal fight with Gary Kirsten over workload claims

Pakistan National Cricket Team pacer Shaheen Afridi took a subtle dig at the white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten over his comments on the fast bowler being overworked. He said that they have made a big issue of workload management and there is no need to make "such a big deal" out of it.

Afridi, since the last few months, has been under the scanner for a while. This is because the fast bowler hasn't been up to the mark with the ball and also seems to be fatigued. The left-arm pacer also was dropped from the Pakistan team for the second Test against Bangladesh.

After that, Afridi has been playing in the Champions Cup, but his performances there weren't up to the mark as well. He captained the Lions team as he struggled both with his bowling and his leadership in the tournament. He was quite expensive with the ball as he was taken for a lot of runs.

In the midst of the tournament, Pakistan white-ball coach Gary Kirsten made a massive statement on Shaheen Afridi. He stated that he was scared to learn that the left-armer bowled “three times more overs than any other fast bowler in the world” in the last 18 months.

Shaheen Afridi, while talking about the workload management of players, cited the example of the greats of Pakistan Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. He said that the legends of the game didn't have workload issues and stressed that it all depends on the individuals. Speaking to Sama TV, he explained:

"If we look at our legendary bowlers from the past, Wasim [Akram] bhai and Waqar [Younis] bhai, they did not have workload issues back then. I don’t know why we have made such a big deal about it for the past year. It all depends on the individual player."

There have been several experts and fans who have raised concerns over the workload of Shaheen Afridi. They are of the opinion that playing continuous cricket has drained the fast bowler and might make him injury-prone as well.

You need to be mentally fit and strong to perform - Shaheen Afridi

Shaheen Afridi further claimed that players should be mentally fit and strong to perform. He further added that if the bodies of the players are not reacting the way they want, then the role of management becomes important. He concluded by saying that there isn't much workload and they should enjoy their cricket. He added:

"You need to be mentally fit and strong to perform; you cannot perform while being lazy. At a time when your body is not reacting the way you want, you need support from the management. There is not much workload but we should enjoy whatever cricket we play.”

Shaheen Afridi will be next seen in action when Pakistan will take on England in the three-match Test series. He has been named in the squad for the first game, which will be played in Multan from 7th October.