Shaheen Afridi openly questioned by Gary Kirsten on air in Champions Cup in Pakistan

Pakistan's white-ball head coach, Gary Kirsten, has expressed his concerns over the fast bowlers’ heavy workload, especially Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, as the team heads into a grueling schedule ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Pakistan cricket team is undergoing a trying phase, particularly in red-ball cricket following a 2-0 whitewash at the home hands of Bangladesh.

It has served as an alarm, and rightly so, with more testing tasks on the cards for the immediate goal of returning to winning ways.

Gary Kirsten raises red flags over Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah’s workload

Pakistan is all set to host England and the West Indies for a Test series next month, while at the same time preparing for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.

Additionally, their packed schedule includes a Test tour of South Africa as well as two consecutive limited-overs tours of Zimbabwe and Australia.

This grueling schedule would only try the Pakistan bowlers' endurance and mettle, apart from the never-ending demands of international cricket.

Kirsten is worried for Pakistan’s two key bowlers, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, who are the backbones of their pace attack across all formats of the game.

They have carried a lot of the burden, particularly in Test cricket, of delivering those crucial breakthroughs in games to get the Pakistan team back into the match, while in limited-overs cricket, Afridi has been bowling a lot too.

Gary Kirsten further noted that there are red flags concerning fatigue and potential injuries due to the nonstop game time, particularly for Shaheen Afridi. Pakistan heads into a rather demanding season, and the management will have to balance the player rotation to avoid burns.

Kirsten highlighted the bigger problem for fast bowlers everywhere: being constantly expected to perform in all three formats of the game amidst extended spells of physical exertion in Test cricket. The coach wants Pakistan to find the balance to save their prized assets.

Fast bowlers are always under immense pressure: Gary Kirsten

Gary Kirsten said while commentating during the ongoing Champions One-Day Cup: “Fast bowlers are always under immense pressure to deliver and win games. When we look at our key resources, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah have carried the bulk of the workload for Pakistan across all formats.”

Pakistan’s white-ball coach added, “I saw a stat the other day that Shaheen Afridi has bowled three times more overs than any other fast bowler in the world over the last 18 months. That's alarming — you’re bound to wear him down eventually.”

Earlier, Pakistan’s red-ball head coach, Jason Gillespie, revealed that Shaheen Afridi was not included in the playing XI for the second Test against Bangladesh because of the team combination.

Gillespie had openly said that Afridi did not fit into the best combination, and that’s why he was dropped from the team.

Gillespie had stated: “We had a good conversation with him and he fully understands we are looking at the best combination for this game and the last few weeks have been interesting for him with fatherhood and other things, this break will allow him to spend time with his family.”