Shaheen Shah Afridi
Shaheen Shah Afridi (Image Credit: Twitter)

Former Pakistan tearaway pacer Shoaib Akhtar is not known to mince his words and has criticized the topic surrounding Shaheen Afridi’s workload. Shaheen Shah Afridi has been one of the best pace bowlers to come out of the country in recent times; however, several experts have called for the need to manage him well and not tire him out. But Shoaib Akhtar remarked that Afridi’s predecessors used to bowl plenty of overs in the nets.

Shaheen Shah Afridi has become the spearhead for Pakistan across formats in recent times, leading it along with Naseem Shah, Tabish Khan, and Faheem Ashraf across different series. Nevertheless, Pakistan’s team management has refused to rest him even for dead rubbers or against low-ranked sides. It is worth noting that resting the left-arm seamer would allow the national team to build a broad group of seamers and a backup pool.

Shoaib Akhtar, PSL
Shoaib Akhtar [Image Credits: Google]
But Shoaib Akhtar did not think so and questioned how is Shaheen Afridi tired, having bowled only around 90 overs in T20I cricket and 150 in Tests. The Rawalpindi Express called for such discussions to end as he claimed that Imran Khan and Wasim Akram used to bowl those many overs in the nets alone.

“He would have bowled around 90 overs in his T20I career so far. In his last eight Test matches, he would have bowled around 150 overs. Is he tired already? Is it too much workload?” Stop bringing workload concerns again and again with regards to Shaheen Afridi. Imran Khan and Wasim Akram used to bowl more overs than him in the nets alone,” Akhtar told Cricket Pakistan.

Shaheen Afridi took a fifer in his most recent Test:

Shoaib Akhtar Questions Discussions Surrounding Shaheen Afridi's Workload Management; Reveals Imran Khan And Wasim Akram Bowled Plenty In The Nets Alone
Shaheen Afridi. (Credits: Twitter)

The second Test against Zimbabwe in Harare saw Shaheen saw him pick up a fifer in the second innings and compiled Pakistan’s third five-wicket haul in the same match. Spinner Nauman Ali took five wickets in the second innings along with Afridi, while Hasan Ali bagged one in the first. As a result, Babar Azam and co. won the two Tests comfortably, completing their African sojourn successfully, involving the tour of South Africa as well.

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